‘Warning, This Beverage May Cause You to Break Out in Boat Purchases’: Nick Offerman and Lagavulin Unveil Rum-Finished Scotch
Nick Offerman shared the latest release between the actor and Lagavulin Distillery. (Photo: Ewan Harvey/Lagavulan)
On Monday, Esquire reported that Nick Offerman released his latest scotch whisky in his collaboration with Lagavulin Distillery. The 11 Year Old Islay Single Malt was aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, then finished for a touch over eight months in Caribbean rum casks. According to Food & Wine, the whisky hosts a suggested retail price of $89.99.
Lagavulin Offerman Edition 11 Year Old Caribbean Rum Cask Finish Single Malt Scotch Whisky possesses an ABV of 46% and marks the fourth release in the “Parks and Recreation” actor’s standing collaboration with the Islay distillery. The actor says the relationship with Lagavulin started during the shooting of an episode of “Parks and Rec.”
“We all just kind of shook hands and said, ‘Let’s be friends. Let’s continue collaborating,” Offerman said in an interview with Esquire.
For a decade, the actor and distillery have been producing the ‘Tales of Whisky” video series, and the whisky releases were a recent development within the partnership.
When asked what the impetus was for the finish on this latest scotch whisky, the actor claimed he was inspired by a recent shoot for a television show called “The Resort.”
“I was in a Spanish fort in Old San Juan, and I had a Cuba Libre that was really good. And then I finished off the night with a Lagavulin,” the actor said. “That was the incendiary seed. And I said, ‘What do you guys think about Caribbean flavors?’ We’ve already got the perfect Scotch to go with a steak; now we’ve created the perfect scotch to go with a dessert course. And so it just kind of fell right in line.”
In October 2022, Lagavulin released a whisky aged for 11 years in American and European oak casks that were heavily charred, and Offerman claimed the whisky was meant to be the quintessential pairing for a “well-barked, medium-rare steak.”
As for the Caribbean influence for the current release, Offerman says he once went to The Virgin Islands to pursue a former girlfriend.
“I was trying to keep her from breaking up with me, so I flew on the same flight as them in this fake mustache and, like, a hat and a newspaper. This was the late eighties. In hindsight, I felt like I was in a John Hughes movie, but maybe it was a little creepy. But it ended romantically.”
The actor claimed this experience, his affinity for making wooden boats, his passion for “maritime fiction,” and the “Horatio Hornblower” series all made the collaboration seem like an organic one.
Offerman claimed Lagavulin allowed him to collaborate on what the brand referred to as the “romance language” on the packaging. Offerman shared with Esquire that he had to be playful with the packaging and ensure it had a cheeky sense of humor. The package features a picture of Offerman peering through the bottle like a telescope, with the following text below:
“‘Warning, this beverage may cause you to break out in boat purchases.'”
Offerman touted himself as a rum drinker outside of the occasional dram, and claimed finishing the latest spirit in this cask added something special to the whisky.
“The thing I love about rum is not only the obvious things — that it’s delicious and effective and it mixes so well with so many things, which makes it a very festive alcohol,” Offerman explained. “But I love the way the flavors, the tropical fruit and the flavor profile lend themselves so effectively that just by finishing our Scotch for eight months in these rum casks, you can take all of the attributes of rum and create a patina on this Scotch.”
The brand describes Lagavulin Offerman Edition: Caribbean Rum Cask Finish as possessing aromas of “lemon meringue, honey, vanilla, toffee, golden cinnamon and a maritime brine,” according to the brand.
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