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Release Notes
A 10yo secret mystery Islay malt released under the Finlaggan brand of independent bottler Vintage Malt Whisky Co. Possibly a Lagavulin or Caol Ila.
Yours Truly
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Colour: Very pale straw with lemony-yellow highlights.
Nose: Full & pungent with an earthy smokiness & fresh hints of ozone.
Flavour : Dry, smoky & fresh, clean & big-bodied.
Finish : Long & smooth with a smoky-burnt oakiness & a very slight edge of richness.
Nose: Full & pungent with an earthy smokiness & fresh hints of ozone.
Flavour : Dry, smoky & fresh, clean & big-bodied.
Finish : Long & smooth with a smoky-burnt oakiness & a very slight edge of richness.
The Malt Whisky File
The Brand: Finlaggan
| Silent since: False |
| Address: |
| → website |
5) The coding on the bottle is a complete red herring - the L does not stand for any distillery and the figures only help us to identify different batches.
Hope this helps clarify the situation and good luck to all those in their search for Finlaggan. Brian Crook M.D. THE VINTAGE MALT WHISKY CO. LTD"
1) Finlaggan Old Reserve comes from one Distillery and one Distillery only. It is a completely consistent product. The only thing that changes is the date of distillation from year to year and the palate of those who taste it.
2) Finlaggan Old Reserve is now sold in many European countries - France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, USA, and the UK.
3) Because stocks of Islay Malt are difficult to get, and to protect our source, we are only able at this time to produce one other age of Finlaggan ie 15 yo. We do plan however to lauch an 8 yo. Finlaggan sometime this year
4) We do not chop and change our Islay Malt depending on what is the "best deal" at the time. This is a complete falsehood and I suspect it was said to make mischief.
This is from a web forum:
"Finally my quest for the mysterious distillery behind Finlaggan has reached its goal ! You will find hereunder a copy of my message on another whisky forum (The Howff from Scotweb) : "A few weeks ago I contacted someone who works on Islay and this man happens to know the man who produces Finlaggan. My "correspondent" warned me that the truth behind this mystery might be a disappointment. Here it comes: The man who set up in business to "produce" Finlaggan whisky (also sold as Ileach whisky) was formerly employed by one of the Islay distilleries. He purchases production from WHICHEVER of the Islay distilleries offers the best deal at the time of the purchase. This means that subsequent bottles sometimes do not always contain the same whisky as a previous bottling (since it is sold as a single malt, they are not blended together) ! However, most Finlaggan does come from Coal Ila and Lagavulin, but also sometimes from Laphroaig... So, this confirms the different tastes from different expert panels and explains why it is such a secret in the whisky industry. It is indeed a disappointment in a way that Finlaggan seems to be a pure commercial product. The result is a good single malt at a low price... The problem is that you will never know for sure which single malt is in your bottle."
To find the true taste of Islay Malt we have chosen casks from a distillery which we feel best represents the character of the island - rich, smooth and smoky - a choice endorsed by the judges at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.
Rumors have it that some or all of the Finlaggan bottlings are in fact Lagavulins. They may also be from Caol Ila and sometimes even from Laphroaig.
The Island of Islay lies in the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean just off the West coast of Scotland. Many centuries ago,the Lord of the Isles ruled Scotland from the stronghold of Finlaggan Castle on Islay, but today it is malt whisky that legends are made of.
There are eight malt distilleries on Islay, all are excellent but with many different flavours.
Finlaggan is very much the SECRET Islay, as the name of the distillery from which it comes is a closely guarded secret and known to only a select few. Only those who have sampled Islay malts over a long period and who are familiar with the subtle differences of nose and taste, could begin to guess at the pedigree of this true son of Islay.
This is a reply from Brian Crook of the Vintage Malt Whisky Company:
" I have read with interest your correspondence re.our Finlaggan Old Reserve - the secret Islay and I am delighted that you enjoy it and regard it as an excellent single malt. You will no doubt therefore not be surprised to learn that Finlaggan Old Reserve won a gold award in the Year 2000 Internat. Wine and Spirit Competition, scoring over 90 points and putting it firmly in the company of some of the older Islay malts produced by multinationals. We are extremely proud of this achievement and we hope that many more people will realise just what a super product we are putting on the market at an affordable price. Although we are determined to keep the source of Finlaggan secret there is no doubt this can sometimes lead to inaccurate speculation and people jumping to the wrong conclusion. Rather than reply on your friend who knows somebody who once met the owner of the Vintage Malt Whisky Co. let me give you some facts about our whisky.
from VintageMaltWhisky.com, Whisky-Distilleries.info, The Interwebs
The Bottler: Vintage Malt Whisky Company
| Established: 1992 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 2 Stewart Street, Milngavie, Glasgow G62 6BW, United Kingdom |
| → website |
We hope that in working with the VMW, Importers of all sizes will find that they will not only obtain products of the highest order, but also receive the type of individual service which only a family company can provide, from the bottling of individual casks to the production of customer"s own-label malts.
This company was founded in 1992 by Brian Crook, an ex-employee from Bowmore distillery on Islay. Apart from the "Coopers Choice" range of independent bottlings, the company has several other brands in its portfolio, including the Finlaggan "bastard" Islay malt whisky and and the "Tambowie" vatted malt whisky. During the 1990"s they also carried a range of bastard malts from the main whisky regions under the Vintage label; their Islay expression was a circa seven years old Lagavulin that offered incredible value for money. Brands and packaging from the Vintage Malt Whisky Company and the Coopers Choice range are being changed regularly, so this information may be outdated... This may not be one of the "big brands" on this page, but when it comes to value Vintage MWC is hard to beat.
The Company"s flagship Brands include Finlaggan, a single malt from the Island of Islay off the West coast of Scotland and Glenalmond, a superb marriage of Highland malts in one bottle. Both have won gold and silver awards in the prestigious International wine and Spirit Competition. Our third Brand is Tantallan, a delightfully smooth and mellow Speyside malt.
In our Cooper"s Choice range of single cask bottlings you will find a selection of fine malts from distilleries large and small covering all regions of Scotland. From the Highlands to the Islands this collection includes many rare malts, some even from distilleries that stopped production years ago and are already well on the way to becoming collectors"items.
One hundred years ago there were over one hundred and twenty malt whisky distilleries throughout Scotland, independently owned and producing malts of rare character from the Highlands, Islands and Lowlands. Today probably only seventy or eighty still produce malt whisky on a regular basis, and of these, only a handful are owned by family companies. The vast majority of malts available from Scotland today are produced by multi-national companies, so the opportunity for family companies worldwide to deal with small, independent scotch whisky distillers has virtually gone. It is to fill this gap that VMW was formed.
By not owning a distillery VMW is not tied to a specific area or quality, thus, through our extensive knowledge of the Scotch Whisky industry, we are able to locate, select and offer our customers a range of malts from the finest of Scotland"s distilleries in the Highlands and Islands. This approach has proved popular with our customers to the extent that we have now exported over 1.2 million bottles of Malt Whisky through our network of distributors across 20 countries.
The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. was founded in 1992 by Brian Crook, an honours graduate in Food Science with twenty years experience in the malt whisky industry, latterly as Export Director for one of Scotland"s principal distillers. The aim was to produce a range of malt whiskies from Scotland"s finest distilleries and to make them available to independent wine and spirit importers throughout the world.
from VintageMaltWhisky.com, Malt Madness