Finlaggan

Finlaggan-  Your faithful reviewer travels far and wide to keep you on the cutting edge of the spirits world.  Last fall I travelled to Amsterdam Holland and while touring that great city, I happened upon this unique single malt.  The name comes from an island castle but there is no distillery present. My faithful network of spies think the spirit comes from young barrels of Lagavulin, but that’s simply a guess. There is a smokey brine right up front with a not so subtle caramelized orange peel…..yup really.  The oaky notes come from the acorns packaged right in the bottle.  I found spices aplenty mid taste and a very thick mouthfeel.  The nose is sharp and fiery, right in my wheelhouse.  I loved the deep amber color and make sure to try it neat !  The bottom line is ”peat with sweet”, and in typical Islay fashion,  the iodine makes it complex and oh so warming.  Fun fact, the actual castle is seasonal and it opens on April 5th !  So fire up the Gulfstream and report back on your findings.  We’ll all look forward to your photos and observations….. Rated a snobbish 7, and let me know if you find it in your neighborhood.  Oh yeah, I fibbed about the acorns, but they made for a cool photograph.