The source of Finlaggan has remained a very closely guarded secret. To tell the true origin of Old Reserve you'll simply have to taste it and find out!
Slightly medicinal nose with hints of peanut, sticking plasters, manuka honey and digestive biscuits.
Sweet cereals, barley malt, a little peat smoke, TCP, nutmeg and ginger.
A long, sweet finish with toasty oak and peppermint.
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The first time I tried this I thought it quite something. Light taste but heavy smoke. Surprisingly an overall lightness but but a smoke that stayed lingering. A week later I've tried it again. To me, this is tasty but light. Nothing overpowering. I was expecting/hoping for a peaty blast that removed the top of my head. I'm both disappointed at the lack of drama and relieved that this is so totally drinkable. Nice dram!
I discover Finlaggan Old Reserve about 3 years ago when shopping at Trader Joe's in Bellingham, WA (USA). I am so pleased with it that I buy it when I can. (no local liquor stores sell it).
If you like Islay whiskies and their slightly iodine and smoky flvours, then this is a good everyday whisky that comes at a cheaper price than the big names of Laphroig and Lagavulin. It doesn't have quite the complexity of the latter two, but if you prefer the slightly more mellow Bruichladdich, Caol Isla, or Bunnahabhain, as I do, then this is certainly worth a try. I suspect the 1*s come from folk who didn't realise that this was an Islay, with all that that implies, because their criticisms could apply to any malt from that Isle. Finlaggan, by the way, was the stronghold of the medieval Lords of the Isles, whose western kingdom stretched along that Scottish coast - so a clear hint of this malt's origins to anyone with a historical interest.
Terrible chemical taste overwhelmed everything else
Don't believe all the 5 star comments, this is horrible. Love from a peat lover
