Lagavulin Distillery

An absolutely fantastic experience — the tour was excellent and worth every penny! For £22, you get a guided tour, a tasting session, and even a Lagavulin nosing glass to take home. A must-do for any whisky fan! A big shout-out to Alexander, our guide — he was knowledgeable, funny, and passionate about whisky. Honestly, I’d give him six stars if I could! The atmosphere at the distillery is amazing, full of history and character. Also, Lagavulin doesn’t feel pretentious like some other distilleries — the gift shop prices are fair, especially compared to places like Talisker. Overall, just a top-notch experience all around. Highly recommended!

Tour experience, samples, overall. Overall - beautiful location in a small bay. Pleasant e-bike ride from Port Ellen, even in the rain. Small visitor's space with bottles and gifts. Tour experience - absolutely worth it. The staff are VERY knowledgeable about all scotch making, not just their own. You get to see the peat furnace and mill. The former is no longer used as they get all their maltings from Port Ellen (very few distilleries have a malting floor to show). If you only go on one tour, this might be best but one warning...there are no casks to see. They ship all their casks off the island so there is no warehouse to walk through. That is an impressive sight to miss. Tasting - the guided experience was great. Several quality pours, none of the short aged stuff some use to fill a flight out. So much learning. Lagavulin is very comfortable pouring free tastes of most any bottle on the shelf. These are small pours but this is much more liberal than other distilleries. Gift shop was loaded with quality items.

Biased as Lagavulin is my favorite distillery! Excellent tour of their processes and where they’ve gone more modern than traditional (stainless mash tank versus wooden wash tank) and why. Wonderful balance of technical, for “whiskey heads”, and basic information for spouses and”newbie’s”! I highly recommend!!!

An absolute gem of an experience!! Nicole was fantastic and told a great tale of the origin of the distillery and knew a great deal about the process. The grounds and surrounding area are as epic as the incredible whisky itself. A must-do destination for whisky lovers and all who want to understand Islay a bit more!

Our tour was really informative and fun. Our guide was very knowledgeable. We also really appreciated the help from the staff to select which bottles to take home. Everyone was lovely. And of course, the whisky... :)

The Lagavulin Distillery Tour is authentic, historic and entertaining. There is an ambience that lets you relax and enjoy your whisky in a warm, cozy place. They are keeping to their proud roots and are not about flashy marketing and sterile environments. It was an enjoyable, educational tour and provided an interesting look at the history of Islay.

Visiting Lagavulin Distillery is nothing short of an unforgettable experience, and the Grand Taste Tour takes it to another level. From the moment you step onto the historic grounds, you’re immersed in the rich heritage and craftsmanship that make Lagavulin one of the most iconic names in Scotch whisky. The tour itself is exceptional—led by passionate and knowledgeable guides who bring the history and distillation process to life. Walking through the distillery, surrounded by the scent of peat smoke and aging whisky, feels almost magical. Every detail, from the copper stills to the cask warehouses, showcases the dedication that goes into every bottle. The highlight, of course, is the tasting. Sampling Lagavulin’s incredible range, including some rare and special expressions, was an absolute treat. Each pour was a deep dive into complex, smoky, and beautifully balanced flavors that define this legendary Islay whisky. The setting, with stunning coastal views, only adds to the experience. For any whisky enthusiast, the Grand Taste Tour at Lagavulin is a must. It’s not just a tasting—it’s a journey into the soul of one of Scotland’s finest distilleries. A phenomenal experience that leaves you with a deeper appreciation (and maybe a bottle or two) of this extraordinary spirit!

Enjoyed the exclusive experience tasting. While malting is not done onsite, milling fermentation, distilling are still done onsite. At the end of the tour get to taste 6 whiskies side by side. Our guide Alexandre is knowledgeable and makes the tasting memorable, interactive, and fun. What is more, get to label and bottle your own whisky from the cask. Highly recommend this experience for whisky lovers. It makes a difference doing the tasting side by side and with a guide who knows the history and stories. A 26 yr old was served in the tasting experience, a bottle priced at GBP 1200+, with complex nose and balanced palate, Lagavulin designed this experience to turn all visitors into fans!

Just did a quick tasting in the Visitor center. Good scotch and friendly staff. Good selection to choose from.

We walked a LONG way to get to Lagavulin Distillery! On the island of Islay lies three distilleries that are within walking distance of each other via walking trail - Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg. On a related note, we accidentally discovered that Whisky Week was taking place at the same time as our visit to Islay, so we decided to pay a visit to all three distilleries in one day. Lagavulin, however, ended up being the only distillery we had time to visit that day, upon learning that Laphroaig was closed and Ardbeg was closing at 5:00, alongside Lagavulin. I'm not a big scotch person by all means, but I was genuinely curious to try out their selections. My mom advised me to go slow on the scotch at first, since they have about 56% alcohol in it, WAY more than what I'm used to. Their scotch was available in flights, along with a small glass of water that you can take to cleanse your palate, in which we chose. My mom and I also ordered a Peat & Plum Highball Cocktail, one each for both of us. The cocktail was one of the strongest cocktails I've ever had in my life, with all that scotch and plum liqueur present inside. Yes, I love drinking cocktails, but I could not finish the entire thing because the alcohol volume was ridiculously strong. Our scotch flight included the 12-years-old 2019 (56.5% ALC VOL), 12-years-old 2022 (57.3% ALC VOL), and 12-years-old 2023 (56.4% ALC VOL). I think the only scotch that I ended up trying was the 12-years-old 2023, and I only took a very tiny sip of it. Yeah, that was MUCH too strong for my taste! Good thing the glass of water was present with our scotch flight. Everyone there was super nice and helpful, the restrooms were clean (while very small and old school), and they even have a little gift shop in front of the distillery the moment you enter. When you see a big White House over the hill after passing Laphroaig, you know you've stumbled upon Lagavulin.

Pleasant tour and tasting. The welcome center building is delightful, comfortable chairs and books in the waiting area. The tasting room is like someone's living room. The gift shop and a variety of expressions and you may taste things that aren't offered on the tour.

Oh man oh man I was at my buddies house last weekend and he busted out some of this great scotch. And it was by this particular distillery brand I've never heard of but I tried it and this was phenomenal. You had a nice smoky flavor to it and this is just a really good scotch whiskey and I can't wait to get more

The first thing you should know about the distillery is that yes, it's a walk from Port Ellen. It's a lovely walk when it's a nice day and should take about an hour (you can of course book a taxi or ride the bus that comes infrequently). It's a pretty area and really conducive to either doing a tour or tasting on your own. We elected to do our own tasting, and of course, they have some of the best whiskey I've ever had. Shout out to the Feis Ile and Jazz fest pours. However, the real gem of Lagavulin has to be the people. Not only were they constantly checking on us to see if we were in need of any more tastes while also greeting everyone that came in the visitor center, but they also were instrumental in my getting my phone back after leaving it at the center. I called them up, said I left it, asked if they could mail it to my next hotel, and they just did it. Without any request for reimbursement. Would you be able to find that elsewhere? Maybe. On Islay, within Scotland? I 100% believe you could find this level of service at most locations. I can't say enough about my experience at this distillery and on the island in general, but hopefully this will convince you to give it a shot!

What I liked about my tasting is that the family element. Everyone is very friendly in a way that's familiar or indicative of Islay people. Due to the down time of the Holidays I wasn't able to experience a tour. Instead I enjoyed a 2 hour guided tasting. Maybe it was due to the abscess of the tour, but I was able to try a full range of limited releases as well as the spirit before it goes into the barrel. This included a limited release of a bottle that retails for $26,000. Part of the tasting afforded me with a small bottle to take home of a release only available for people who participate in that tour/tasting.

I didn't do the tour here as it wasn't running the day we went, but I did pop in and try to have a look around the grounds. A lot of areas were roped off so you couldn't get round to the sea where the Lagavulin sign is painted against the white wall. There isn't much to see inside if you are not doing a tour ,which was a bummer. The staff were friendly enough (no free samples dished out here tho, unlike every other distillery we went to). They did enjoy asking about those special bottles on display and they have a small area with lovely branded items for sale. I'd certainly go back for the tour after reading the other reviews.

This distillery tasting room feels like an old Scottish grandmother's living room to me. Sure, I don't have an old Scottish grandmother but if I did, she'd live here. Lagavulin is world-renowned and they make some killer whisky, there's no debating that. They run a lot of tours here daily and can get a bunch of guests at once so your wait time for a dram (without a tour) may vary depending on your timing. Friendly, knowledgeable staff and, of course, some pretty dang tasty whisky.

This is a nice and cozy distillery. They've got a comfy and quiet tasting room with many books if you'd like to have a nice read while enjoying your dram. They gentleman who was helping us was nice and provided great information on what to expect for each dram. I'd love to go back again!

Loved this place. Easy to get to. Nice parking. Tour was great. Staff were nice. Tastings were informative. Definitely a must when here.

I'm not a whiskey drinker myself, but for my peaty whiskey loving husband, Lagavulin was the highlight of our time in Islay...and Islay was the highlight of our trip to Scotland for both of us. We loved walking the path out to Lagavulin from the Port Ellen town area. It's a small place and that adds to the charm. The tasting room is like going back in time to someone's living room. My husband was over the moon to do a tour and tasting with the head distiller. The area is beautiful.

This is the quintessential Islay peated scotch. Whisky doesn't really get any better than this, in my opinion. Great tour, very charming facility grounds, and well worth the visit.

We took the cask tasting tour for and it did not disappoint. Shot out to Ian who made this a once in a lifetime experience. I hope to revisit someday.

We had a marvellous stay at the Lagavulin Distillery. Iain McArthur is a legend and we were honoured to join a warehouse tasting with him. They offered 5 drams including a 23 and a 32 year old Lagavulin. It was a blast and worth the money. The warehouseshop sadly only offered the standards that you can buy in the supermarket, too. That is a bit sad. I woud have loved to taste some more different barrels and do a handfilled bottle, as the other Islay distilleries offer it. We met Iain McArthur twice again on the Island, in the supermarket and on his traktor in the fields. He is a really down to earth guy, I would love to spend some days with him in the distillery. We will come back in May, for another wonderfull lagavulin experience.

Out of the cask, onto the palate Unless you really do not like peat in your dram (what are you doing on Islay?) you will enjoy a tasting at Lagavulin. We went for the cask tasting and had both a ton of fun and about 5 cask tastes. Things may have gotten fuzzy and I may have lost count. A delightful chance to experience how varied the casks are which go to blend up a single malt of consistent quality. Check your listings to make your times work as you dovetail with tours at Ardbeg and Laphroaig.

Nice distillery and good tour. Modern high capacity distillery owned by Diageo. Did not allow photography inside which was a pity.

We showed up slightly late as the Taxi situation on the island is dismal. They didnt charge us for the tour and they simply wanted us to have a good time. We did a private warehouse tasting with Iain McArthur. It could not have been better.

Of the 9 tours we took in Islay this was probably the least memorable. One of the reasons was the No Photos and No Video policy, no other distillery didn't allow photos. The tour it self was OK but the guide seemed a bit disinterested. Following the tour there was a four sample tasting but again the guide rushed through it, I think she was ready to go home. For the tasting we were ushered into a nice room where the samples were lined up on the table, the guide gave a brief description of each and told us to go ahead at our timing. In all our other tastings he guide walked us through each sample, we discussed them and then proceeded, this was just a "have at it" approach. Again a nice distillery and lovely whiskey just not the best of tours.