Lagavulin

The Lagavulin distillery lies at the south side of the Isle of Islay. It was founded in 1816 by John Johnston.

The Lagavulin pot stills
The pot stills

Lagavulin is pronouced Lagga-voulin. It comes from the Galic language and means "valley where the mill stands". The buildings themself are directly between Ardbeg and Laphroaig.

A picture of the pot stills from a higher point
The pot stills
The Lagavulin malt mill in a red painting
The malt mill

In the founding years the distillery did its malting all by itself. The drying of the malt was carried out over peat fire. This gives the Lagavulin its rich smoky flavour. You can still see the legacy of this malting. There are still pagoda formed tops on the kilns and the malting floors are now the visitor center. 

The Lagavulin mashtun
The mashtun
The Lagavulin wash back. It just spills over.
A wash back

Today the Lagavulin 16 y.o. counts to the best selling single malt whiskies in Scottland. The distillery now belongs to Diageo and the Lagaulin is part of the "Classic Malts of Scottland".

The small river going through Lagavulin.
The creek going through Lagavulin