Lagavulin
In the 1760s, an English entrepreneur named Josiah Wedgwood became the first person in recorded history to land a celebrity endorsement when he convinced Queen Charlotte (the wife of George III) to lend her title to a line of “Queen’s Ware” pottery he produced after she took a liking to a tea set he’d presented to her as a gift.
In the centuries that have followed, countless companies have gone a similar route by peddling their products to consumers with the help of actors, musicians, athletes, and other notable names in the hopes those endorsements will help set them apart from the rest of the pack.
That includes the equally countless liquor brands that have adopted that approach, and in recent years, it seems like every famous person on the planet has either launched or joined forces with a company known for its boozy libations.
However, you’d be hard-pressed to find any partnerships as organic as the one between the legendary Scotch distillery Lagavulin and Nick Offerman, the actor best known for playing Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation to the point where many people have trouble differentiating between the man and the fictional bureaucrat.
It’s hard to blame them when you consider Offerman has plenty of things in common with his most iconic character. He may not be an anti-social curmudgeon with libertarian tendencies in real life, but he does share Swanson’s love of woodworking, red meat, and the 16-year-old whiskey (or, if we’re being technical, “whiskey”) that was routinely featured on the show.
It’s only natural that the folks at Lagavulin eventually reach out to him for a collaboration that led to the release of an 11-year-old “Offerman Edition” in 2019.
In 2022, we were treated to a follow-up in the form of a Single Malt finished in Guinness barrels before a Charred Oak version dropped the following year, and the trio of releases recently transformed into a quartet with the release of a new offering that incorporates Caribbean rum casks—one I can safely say does not disappoint.
REVIEW: Lagavulin ‘Offerman Edition’ Caribbean Rum Cask Finish
Lagavulin
Whiskey finished in rum casks has been Having A Moment in the past couple of years, and I’m personally a big fan of the trend based on the handful of ones I’ve sampled that have gotten that particular treatment (the “Voyage” edition of Wild Turkey’s Master’s Keep really opened my eyes to the benefits).
All of the Lagavulin x Offerman collabs that have been produced so far have used an 11-year Single Malt for the base, and this one (which features a mix of liquid aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry barrels) is no exception. However, as you can probably surmise from the name, the newest edition spends another eight months in Caribbean rum casks before hitting the bottle.
The end result is a noticeably sweeter 46% ABV scotch that is still bursting with the signature smoke and leather notes Lagavulin is known for. The nose features a slightly spicy note that almost reminds me of jalapeno along with a little bit of orangey citrus, and both of those flavors come through on the pallet along with black pepper, cinnamon, and a bit of salinity.
I normally drink my whiskey neat and usually resist the urge to add even a single drop of water (nevermind ice), but I will say this one benefits from a tiny splash of H2O that cuts some of the aforementioned sweetness imparted by the rum cask while making the flavors a bit more pronounced.
I still think the Guinness version of Lagavulin’s Offerman Edition is the standout of the ones that have been released so far (the chocolate and coffee combo is really hard to beat), but this one also only affirmed my love of rum cask finishes while proving the distillery’s partnership with the actor remains a force to be reckoned with.
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