If you're going to stick your tongue into a peat bog on a cold day, you'd better have the right fire on hand to warm it back up. Now, my daughter swears the only way I can possibly enjoy any of these vices, and especially together, is that somewhere along the way I burned out all my taste buds, but this combination is a rare treat, and I do mean rare: KIDS, DON'T TRY THIS WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION.
The Lagavulin 16yr is one of my top 6 single malts. Its not in the top 5 because I can't drink it often (which accounts for the 14 months it took to kill the bottle). Its a malt you have to prepare for, and this is going to sound precious as hell, but the environment has to be right. It should be a cold day. You should have worked on something physical for a while (ideally, ice road trucking or raw earth excavation, but raking leaves will suffice). There should be something in your stomache (if you're going to really pop the taste buds: steake au poivre). The idea here is to slow down both the body and the mind and be present with the Scotch, as the bigness and complexity of it need some attention to fully appreciate it. The Lagavulin 16yr is to some the "chewiest" of the Big Peats. The experience starts with the bottle itself, dark green and smoky, as if it were found under a pile of leaves behind Gandalf's trash dump (don't tell me this guy didn't drink Scotch). Uncork it, and you can almost smell the infirmary after the Battle of Helm's Deep: the phenols are alive from the very start, medicinal in a way that was lost after the Middle Ages. It's ancient and mystical, overwhelming but beguiling, and should send anyone under 30 into a swoon, or at least to NetFlix for "Tale of the Two Towers".
To chew this Scotch (we'll do a separate post on chewing) is to release what seems to be the essence of the Highlands into your mouth. Bold, argumentative, beguiling and in-your-face, it comes bearing chocolate and spice in the forefront and on the long finish. And this is where we meet the Punch Double Maduro . Like any maduro, robust and strong, but the spices in the double come from a wonderful blend of Ecuadoran wrapper, Connecticut binder and filler from Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaraqua. I like the Chateau size best, fits my hand and mouth and is about the right length of time: 45-50 minutes of great smoke. A sip of Lagavulin followed by a puff of the Punch and you can set off smoke alarms in the office building down on the highway. Beautiful balance through and through, but the warning again: not for beginners. For a true full bodied mouthful, either try this combination or get into a fist fight with a Balrog and some Orcs.