Finlaggan Whisky

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  Finlaggan Cask Strength Single Islay Malt Whisky 58%

  Item no.: 22227865426-600

  Finlaggan is the name of the island in the loch from which the Lords of the Isles once ruled the Hebrides. The whisky carries the name but not the distillery, because who made it is something you do not get told.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Cask Strength is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled at cask strength 58%.

  Behind the bottle stands The Vintage Malt Whisky Company, a family firm from Glasgow founded in 1992. They buy casks from an undisclosed Islay distillery and bottle them under the Finlaggan name, which is an entirely ordinary arrangement when a distillery sells casks on without wanting its name on the label.

  Cask Strength is the heaviest in the range and is bottled without dilution, without chill filtration and without colouring. The 58% makes a difference you notice immediately: the smoke sits denser and oilier than the same whisky would at 46%.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Deep peat smoke and burnt wood, enriched by subtle hints of iodine and seaweed of the kind Islay is known for.

  Palate

  Vigorous and full bodied with an intense wave of smoke and malt, and a slight underlying sweetness that balances the robust peat character.

  Finish

  Long and persistent with an enveloping warmth that gradually releases nuances of dark chocolate and spices.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Cask Strength
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 58%
  Size: 70 CL
  Non-chill filtered: Yes
  Natural colour: Yes
  Edition: Cask Strength

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Peaty · Maritime · Spiced · Cask Strength

  Did you know?

  Finlaggan is a small island in Loch Finlaggan on Islay, and from here the Lords of the Isles governed much of the Scottish islands and the western seaboard in the Middle Ages. The ruins are still there, a couple of kilometres from the distillery nobody will put a name to.

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  • 1pcs.
    67,00EUR
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  Finlaggan Eilean Mor Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 46%

  Item no.: 22227865426-610

  Eilean Mòr means the big island in Gaelic, and it is precisely that islet in Loch Finlaggan where the Lords of the Isles had their seat. The whisky is the more considered of the Finlaggan bottles, still peated but with the reins on.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Eilean Mor is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled at 46% in small batch.

  The Vintage Malt Whisky Company of Glasgow stands behind the whole Finlaggan range, and the malt comes from an Islay distillery that is not named. Eilean Mor sits a level above the basic releases: the strength is raised to 46% and bottling happens in smaller runs rather than continuously.

  Those extra points do more than the number suggests. The smoke gains carrying power, the texture turns fuller, and the light oiliness that marks Islay malt comes through more clearly than in the standard releases at 40%. The whisky is bottled without chill filtration and without colouring.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Sweet peat smoke with medicinal notes and a touch of sea salt.

  Palate

  Full bodied with spicy peat smoke, tar and iodine, a light oiliness and a sweet malt sitting underneath it all.

  Finish

  The smoke falls back to embers. Long and slightly drying.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Eilean Mor
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 46%
  Size: 70 CL
  Non-chill filtered: Yes
  Natural colour: Yes
  Edition: Eilean Mor Small Batch
  EAN no.: 5024720311005

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Peaty · Maritime · Sweet · Medicinal

  Did you know?

  The Vintage Malt Whisky Company owns several brands that all stand for unnamed distilleries, Finlaggan from Islay among them and Tantallan from the Highlands alongside it. The model gives them access to casks they could never otherwise buy, in exchange for keeping quiet about where they came from.

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  • 1pcs.
    60,25EUR
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  Finlaggan Old Reserve Single Islay Malt Whisky 40%

  Item no.: 22227865426-613

  Old Reserve is the Finlaggan you reach for without making an occasion of it. Peated enough to be Islay, mild enough to drink on an ordinary Wednesday.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Old Reserve is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks and bottled at 40%.

  The Vintage Malt Whisky Company buys the casks from an Islay distillery that does not want its name on the label and bottles them under the Finlaggan name. Old Reserve is the slightly more mature of the two entry releases, and the bourbon wood is chosen because it lays vanilla and pale sweetness beneath the smoke rather than fighting it.

  At 40% this is the softest end of the range. That makes it a sensible way to meet Islay for the first time, and a bottle you can keep on the shelf without having to be in the mood for it.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Soft peat smoke and vanilla, with a lightly salted edge and a note of dried citrus peel behind.

  Palate

  Round and malty with the smoke as a frame. Caramel and pale fruit in the middle, and a light ashy dryness that keeps the sweetness in check.

  Finish

  Medium and clean with smoke, malt and a final touch of pepper.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Old Reserve
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 40%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Bourbon cask
  Edition: Old Reserve
  EAN no.: 5024720900001

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Malty · Soft · Vanilla · Maritime

  Did you know?

  On the smallest of the islands in Loch Finlaggan, Eilean na Comhairle, stood the Council Isle. The fourteen councillors who governed the Lordship of the Isles met here, and decisions taken on that small islet applied from the Hebrides to Ulster.

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  • 1pcs.
    53,50EUR
• 

  Finlaggan Original Single Islay Malt Whisky 40%

  Item no.: 2222666333-88852

  There is Islay whisky you have to work up to. This is not one of them. Original is the way into the range and into the island, peat, salt and malt in the most direct form it can be done.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Original is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks and bottled at 40%.

  The malt comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery and The Vintage Malt Whisky Company of Glasgow handles the bottling. It is a model where the distillery sells casks on without wanting its name on the label, and in return you get an island malt on a far more straightforward shelf than the official releases occupy.

  The bourbon wood provides the bright frame and 40% keeps it light. This is not a whisky trying to impress. It is trying to be a good Islay dram, and it succeeds.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Peat smoke first, then malt and a pale sweetness, with a seaweed and salt note that recalls a coastline a couple of hundred metres away.

  Palate

  Direct and malty. The smoke carries while caramel and apple sit beneath, and a lightly peppered edge rises towards the close.

  Finish

  Short to medium, dry and smoky with a final scatter of salt.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Original
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 40%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Bourbon cask
  Edition: Original
  EAN no.: 5024720350004

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Malty · Maritime · Peaty · Soft

  Did you know?

  The peat on Islay is not like mainland peat. The island bogs formed close to the sea out of moss, heather and seaweed, and that is why Islay smoke carries the salted, almost iodine-like note a Highland peat never gives.

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  • 1pcs.
    53,50EUR
• 

  Finlaggan Port Finish Single Islay Malt Whisky 46%

  Item no.: 22227865426-611

  Port and peat smoke ought not to work together. One is sweet and grapey, the other ashy and salty. The combination has nonetheless become one of the most used in modern Islay whisky, and here is why.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Port Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in port casks, bottled at 46%.

  The malt comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery, and The Vintage Malt Whisky Company has given it a spell in port wood after the main maturation. The port leaves red berries and a grapey sweetness that settle on top of the smoke rather than mixing into it, and that layering is the entire point of a finish.

  At 46% the whisky has enough body to carry both, and it is neither chill filtered nor coloured. The reddish tone in the glass comes from the wood alone.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Smoky and medicinal peat first, with a clear touch of red berries and grapes behind.

  Palate

  Plenty of port sweetness with the smoke lying underneath. Raisin, pepper, leather and red berries unfold as it goes.

  Finish

  Long with grape skin, dry smoke and a warm spiced close.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Port Finish
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 46%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in port casks
  Non-chill filtered: Yes
  Natural colour: Yes
  Edition: Port Finish
  EAN no.: 5024720313009

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Fruity · Sweet · Spiced · Berry

  Did you know?

  A port cask, a pipe, holds around 550 to 650 litres, making it far larger than the bourbon casks the whisky sat in first. That means a port finish works more slowly than you might think, taking months where a small cask would have done the job in weeks.

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  • 1pcs.
    67,00EUR
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  Finlaggan Red Wine Finish Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 46%

  Item no.: 2222755554-887412

  Red wine casks are rare in Scotch whisky, and there is a reason for that. The tannins can turn a whisky bitter and dry if you are not careful. Here they are used to pull the smoke towards fruit instead.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Red Wine Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in red wine casks, bottled at 46%.

  The malt comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery, and The Vintage Malt Whisky Company moved it into red wine wood at the end. Where a port cask gives sweet, concentrated fruit, the red wine cask gives something drier and more grapey, plum, berry and a light tannin edge that keeps the sweetness in place.

  The result is the most fruit-driven of the Finlaggan finishes, but also the one where the smoke is allowed to stay in front. It is bottled at 46% without chill filtration and without added colour.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Lovely peat smoke with sweet red berries, dried fruit, oak and vanilla behind it.

  Palate

  Salted and smoky with notes of sweet fruit, plum jam, red grapes, orange marmalade and berries.

  Finish

  Sweet malt notes and grape skin, while the bonfire smoke lingers long afterwards.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Red Wine Finish
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 46%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in red wine casks
  Non-chill filtered: Yes
  Natural colour: Yes
  Edition: Red Wine Finish
  EAN no.: 5024720322001

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Fruity · Berry · Sweet · Maritime

  Did you know?

  Red wine casks are used far less often than sherry and bourbon wood in Scotch whisky. Wine casks are built thinner and have not held strong spirit before, which makes them less predictable, and the tannins can leave the whisky dry and tight if the cask is allowed to work too long.

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  • 1pcs.
    60,25EUR
• 

  Finlaggan Sherry Finish Single Islay Malt Whisky 70 cl 46%

  Item no.: 22227865426-612

  Sherry and peat smoke are the oldest pairing in Scotch whisky. The dark fruit settles like a blanket over the ash, and the result has been a favourite since somebody first happened to do it.

  The expert description

  Finlaggan Sherry Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in sherry casks, bottled at 46%.

  The base whisky is the same peated Islay malt from an undisclosed distillery that the rest of the range is built on. The Vintage Malt Whisky Company has given it a closing spell in sherry wood, and that pulls it in a darker and fuller direction than either Original or the other finishes.

  Sherry casks are the most used partner for smoke for a reason: raisin, fig and dark chocolate carry enough weight to meet the peat without either side disappearing. The whisky is bottled at 46% without chill filtration and without colouring.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Peat smoke and dark dried fruit, with raisin, a touch of fig and a light nutty note from the wood.

  Palate

  Full and sweet with raisin and dark chocolate in front, while the smoke works its way up from below and lays salt and ash beneath the sweetness.

  Finish

  Long and warm with dried fruit, dry smoke and a final touch of spice.

  Specifications

  Name: Finlaggan Sherry Finish
  Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
  Region/Country: Islay Scotland
  Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 46%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in sherry casks
  Non-chill filtered: Yes
  Natural colour: Yes
  Edition: Sherry Finish
  EAN no.: 5024720315003

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Sherry matured · Sweet · Maritime · Spiced

  Did you know?

  Very few sherry casks in Scotch whisky have ever held sherry meant for drinking. They are sherry seasoned: new oak casks are sent to Spain, filled with sherry for a couple of years purely to give the wood character, and then shipped north. Genuine old bodega casks have become a rarity.

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  • 1pcs.
    67,00EUR