#offerman

There is no wrong way to consume alcohol.

- Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman)

If you’ve ever watched an episode of  fantastic comedy series “Parks & Rec” then you probably know that Nick Offerman’s character, Ron Swanson, is a connoisseur of scotch whisky, particularly Lagavulin. It was the fictitious Mr. Swanson who put so many fresh eyes on the tiny island where Lagavulin lives. That love also extends to Nick Offerman himself, who teamed up with the distillery for some advertising spots back in 2014, and eventually his own bottle of whisky, Lagavulin Offerman Edition, back in 2019.

In 2021 Offerman and Lagavulin revealed another addition to the Offerman line: Lagavulin Offerman Edition: Guinness Cask Finish. I just had a few drams. It’s pretty good.

Normally I’m a Speyside whisky girl but I do have a soft spot for Islay whisky as I like to have a broad palate.

I always disregard the tasting notes provided on the back of boxes. Too often they run the range from yawn to snore: “Hints of chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and snore!” The marketing brains behind the labels need to pay more attention to what tasting notes guff are printed on these boxes.

The tasting notes given on the box are ‘chocolate, caramel, and coffee’. I personally didn’t taste any chocolate until I tried it again, a few nights after I opened the bottle and added a little water, but I would not call it a prominent note. So why is it boasted on the bottle? I did taste coffee and sure, a little caramel. The spirit is finished for four months in ex-Guinness casks, so they slap the word “chocolate” on the label, because people always compare Guinness to a chocolate shake. Is it creamy? Yes. Coffee? Sure. Chocolate? Eh.

It’s not even sweet but mostly bitter, more chocolate baking powder than chocolate. To the untrained palate, Lagavulin is many things, but chocolate is not the first, second, or ninth of them that anyone will notice. I have a tenacious palate and chocolate is, at best, a distant background. Chocolate is such a varying and cozy note, any brown spirit could get away with describing it as such. But my point is there are so many other notes that are much bigger stage hogs than chocolate.

The Offerman Guinness Finished needed time to open up and reveal itself. The last 3rd of any bottle will always taste different than the first few drams. For the Offerman Guinness Finished, coffee or espresso grounds would be more appropriate notes because this spirit is more bitter than sweet. As it should be. It’s an Islay scotch.

Overall, this is a fun slant on the classic Lagavulin 16. The smoke is not as pungent, but still strong and filthy. The marine influence is dry and dirty, like damp beach garbage that would attract a seagull. I love it. The bitterness is fun, you hold it in your mouth long enough, or dilute it a bit with water, and the richness and complexity begins. Citrus, coffee, even a tad of talcum (did you ever lick the powder as a kid, or are you normal?). In sum, all these notes have a bitterness that I appreciate. Things get sweeter the longer you get to know the spirit. The ginger, almond, spearmint, vanilla and carob baking powder jumped out after several drams seriously mulled over. I like it better than Laga 16.