LAGAVULIN – Behind the Label

The richly peated Islay malt enjoys the loving support of actor Nick Offerman who brings a homely, mid-western vibe to the whisky in his trademark lumberjack shirt. Tom Bruce-Gardyne peers beyond the smoke to explore whether it can truly conquer America … 

"All my life I have avoided Europe, and its multitudes of terribleness," says Ron Swanson, sounding not unlike that man in the White House. "But it turns out, much to my surprise, there is actually one place in Europe that is worth seeing. These tiny islands off the coast of Scotland are where God's chosen elixirs are distilled, barrelled and prepared for consumption. This is worth the trip."

Swanson, the curmudgeonly director of Parks, played by Nick Offerman in the hit NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, is on a pilgrimage to his beloved Lagavulin distillery on Islay. The episode aired in 2013, and Offerman, who shares his character's passion for the whisky, became the face of the brand a year later.

As he told Forbes magazine in 2022, he was introduced to Scotch whisky through Lagavulin in his twenties. "From then on, any Scotch that was merely golden or fruity or had, you know, notes of honey, I was, like, ‘What is this boring lemonade? I need a campfire in my glass."

Lagavulin was founded in 1816, and soon had Laphroaig and Ardbeg as neighbours. It sits across the bay from the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, former stronghold of the Lord of the Isles, in an area that once bubbled with illicit stills. The whisky writer Dave Broom reckons it may be the crucible of distilling in Scotland, given its close proximity to Ireland.

Lagavulin became the spiritual home of White Horse, the blend founded by Peter Mackie, who did his whisky apprenticeship here in the 1870s. When Alfred Barnard visited shortly afterwards on his great distillery tour, he claimed Lagavulin was among the most prominent of the few that produced its own ‘single Whisky', although most went for blending.

A century later, it was picked to represent Islay in the six ‘Classic Malts' launched by UDV in 1988, a decade before it merged into Diageo. It was the company's first serious attempt with single malts, and the bottles were displayed on a wooden plinth, with the peat-soaked Lagavulin 16-year-old at the end. It was something to aim for on a lifetime's journey through the whisky regions, starting with the foothills of Glenkinchie in the Lowlands.

In choosing such an aged expression from a distillery, then working a three-day week in an industry awash with whisky, UDV clearly assumed its appeal would be very niche. Surely no-one would jump in at the deep end and start with Lagavulin? Except they did, and not just Offerman. It was the runaway success of the Classic six, and was soon on allocation.

To fill the gap, Diageo cranked up the bottling line at their other Islay distillery of Caol Ila and released younger Lagavulins. However, the 16 "remains our core expression," says Adrienne Gammie, Diageo's global brand director for malts. "We think of it as the definitive Islay malt – intensely flavoured, deeply smoky and rich."Supply was tight during the post-Covid boom, but the pressure has eased. "We're in a good place today on Lagavulin 16 in order to fulfil the demand," she says.

On an island of twelve distilleries, not all yet in production, standing out is getting harder. Adrienne's mentions Lagavulin's slow distillation – the longest on Islay, and how it's "crafted by the community, "adding: I think Lagavulin has interesting cultural depth from iconic drams to innovative cocktails," and it "offers a whisky experience that is both traditional and modern, and always deeply tied to its place of origin."

The partnership with Nick Offerman feels very genuine – more of a love-in than anything transactional. According to Adrienne, he visits the distillery several times a year, "both at our request and on his own". Since 2014, he has produced a series of Lagavulin videos called ‘My Tales of Whisky', and has released four Offerman limited editions, working directly with the blending team and co-writing the campaign messaging, apparently.

"I think what we found with Nick Offerman is, on the one hand, he can be perceived as quite a stereotypical male who enjoys whisky, but the audience he appeals to through the type of films he does and his comedy is much wider,"she says. "He has a much broader appeal beyond the penetration of Lagavulin in the US."

The whisky is sold worldwide, with Europe the biggest region, "but the US is one of our lead markets where we really want to focus and develop our brand,"she says. Quoting IWSR figures, she claims the US accounts for a fifth of Scotch malt sales, though its compound annual growth has been just 0.4% in the past five years, and declining in 2024. Although "in our most recent data, we're seeing Lagavulin gaining share," she says.

Back to that male stereotype and Offerman if often nursing a dram of Lagavulin by the fire, like Harrison Ford with his Glenmorangie. While clearly tongue-in-cheek, does it risk reinforcing the very cliché these brands are trying to escape from?

"You're right," Adrienne replies. "We really want to appeal to the next generation of drinkers, and we have not done much with Nick Offerman by the fireside."And yet only last year, in the video for his latest Lagavulin release – a Caribbean rum cask, the actor is up on deck sailing the Caribbean one minute, and down below beside a crackling fire the next.

In the current ‘Beyond the Smoke' campaign, he is just the narrator as the setting shifts from "a mixed gender dinner party to a sleek cocktail lounge," she says. "It's really meant to show how Lagavulin's smoky character can seamlessly blend into a modern, sophisticated lifestyle."

These videos have co-starred Iain ‘Pinkie' McArthur, who she calls "a distillery legend and pillar of the local community", who plays a kind of Bond villain. Having been a Lagavulin warehouseman and peat-cutter for forty years, Pinkie retired last year. Hollywood beckons.

As Adrienne and her team ponder what next for Lagavulin, the brand deserves credit for not chasing the richest 1% with endless exorbitant special releases. "Our core focus is always to sell wonderful, delicious whiskies that are there to be enjoyed," she says. Priced at around US$80 in the States, Lagavulin 16-year-old remains reasonably accessible compared to many. In these straightened times, that may be its greatest strength.