Finlaggan Cask Strength Whisky

This single malt is creeping up on my scale, almost a go to.

I'm new at tasting notes. Literally just started writing my thoughts down last night while tasting a few whiskies. I found this one to be eye-wateringly potent. The only flavor note I could come up with was cedar sap. It was great fun and enjoyed it immensely.

I get this fairly regularly in Japan for ¥3,750 (about £24) and it’s great. Caol Ila at 6 to 7 years would be my best guess. Love it.

Anyone reading the 1 star review
. Ignore it! The mere fact that he/she thought Illeach and Port Askaig are poor shows terrible taste. Both are absolute belters and so is this!

i ll like to drink that when it s make cold temperature

If you do not sense that Caol Ila sweetness note so typical for CI, I cannot help you. Look for the same one in As We Get It. There is not so many cask strengths coming from Islay, so you should go for Finlaggan CS for sure. Then try Ileach CS as well, it is beautiful.

Firstly, let me say that I love Islay malts - the peatier and smokier the better. I have been to the island many times and have a bottle from all the distilleries in my store. That said, what do I think about Finlaggan? Well, I'm not surprised that no distillery wants to own up to producing it! To be honest, I've been caught out before with Ileach and Port Askaig, both being pretty poor whiskies in my view but I was curious about Finlaggan and, given the reviews, I thought it might be worth a try. I wish I hadn't. The nose is awful - it suggests lots of artificiality and when I tasted it, my fears were confirmed: it's like a vaguely peaty blend with lots of caramel and colouring with none of the powerful peat and smoke I was expecting. How anyone could think this was anything to do with Lagavulin is beyond me. Locally, I can buy Laphroaig 10 and Bowmore No 1 for £25, Bunnahabhain 12 for £33 and Ardbeg 10 for £37. I think now I'll stick to attributed Islay malts and refrain from sampling chemical effluent like this.

by whisky van geest the tell finlaggan comes from the lagavullin distillery

A very interesting sinlge malt with both sweetness and peatiness. Knocks the spots of most Islay singles of around the same price. Lovely!

An absolute find. Power, grace, balance. Nadal on clay. That good. And please, mums the word. If this whisky gets better known, forget it. So, shhhh....quiet!