Head to head · same category, comparable price
Lagavulin 16 Year Old vs The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask
They diverge on 4 of our eight axes, most of all peaty, 8 against 0.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Lagavulin 16 Year Old | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Islay, Scotland | Speyside, Scotland |
| Age | 16 years | 12 years |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Refill American oak, refill European oak | Ex-bourbon American oak, Oloroso sherry-seasoned American oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £85 | £72 |
| Per 10cl | £12 | £10 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £282 | £257 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both from Scotland: Lagavulin 16 Year Old from Islay, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask from Speyside.
Lagavulin 16 Year Old states 16 years, 4 more on paper.
Cask as each producer describes it: Lagavulin 16 Year Old in refill american oak and refill european oak, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask in ex-bourbon american oak and oloroso sherry-seasoned american oak.
Neither states chill filtration.
Neither set of specifications is producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Lagavulin 16 Year Old is £13 dearer a bottle than The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask.
Strength keeps that ordering: £257 a litre of pure alcohol for The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask against £282.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Lagavulin 16 Year Old is 30th cheapest and The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask 29th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Lagavulin 16 Year Old | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 8 | 0 |
| Sweet | 4 | 7 |
| Fruity | 3 | 6 |
| Spicy | 4 | 4 |
| Woody | 6 | 5 |
| Sherried | 3 | 7 |
| Cereal | 4 | 4 |
| Oily | 8 | 6 |
4 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after peaty comes sherried at 3 against 7, sweet at 4 against 7 and fruity at 3 against 6.
Identical on spicy and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Lagavulin 16 Year Old
Sweet peat smoke wrapped in dried fruit and iodine. The softest of the big Islays.
Full record →The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask
Butterscotch, orange and a dry oak finish. Polished and very easy to like.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Lagavulin 16 Year Old for after dinner and gift for a peat drinker, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask for gift and introduction to sherry cask.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Lagavulin 16 Year Old and The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask: malts.com, themacallan.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.