Lagavulin 8 Year

This is a real treat - I found the fairly recent Lagavulin 8 Year on major discount at my local liquor store. It was significantly cheaper than the 16 Year, which isn't common here in Washington DC.  This was created to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lagavulin distillery, which is one of my very favorites. It's fairly well known among drinkers of heavily peated Scotch that the younger the age of the liquid, the rougher the smoke tends to be, to the point of being unruly and sometimes unpalatable. Let's see how this turns out... 
Bottled a very healthy 48% ABV, non-chill-filtered, uncolored (!), coming from refill European and American oak, it has a very interesting story that is better expressed in this excellent article; better stated here than anything I would write. It's an interesting story, and I highly suggest you give it a glance. 

It's safe to say that Scotch drinking has a healthy bit of ritual in it. This means that when a distillery like Lagavulin, whose 16 Year offering has attained legendary status for generations of drinkers, starts branching out and offering new stuff that's "only" half the age, people are going to get upset. And they did. I encountered a surprising number of harsh reviews of the 8 Year, most of which I found unwarranted. 

Nose: Delicious. Peat, anchovies, industrial oil, all very fresh and clear. Some light hay. Some faint sweetness. Lime zest. Overbaked apple, or perhaps applesauce with cinnamon. Bacon! 

Mouthfeel: Oily, medium body. 

Palate: Wow, this is good: much sweeter than the nose would let on. Vanilla, sea salt, oceanic peat, complex honey, malt, candied bacon, and a lighter variety of the fish from the nose. 

Finish: Medium finish, a nicely entwined oak-and-briny-peat flavor that carries on for a bit before dissolving gracefully. 

Verdict: No, this isn't the magisterial 16 Year ... but it's really, really good at what it does. It's so fresh and clear, full of sea notes, sweetness, wood and malt - truly delectable. This is an interesting change of pace for Lagavulin, and highly recommended.