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. So says the Vintage Malt Whisky Company website. The nose is of peat smoke and brown sugar of the Demerara variety, warm honey, some very mild orange aromas and malt dust and woody oak notes. After a few minutes there is also some mild coal smoke and some hints of cereal grains (not breakfast cereal) and very mild pine resin and further spicy oaky wood notes. A nice Kildalton nose and over all very pleasant although one shouldn’t be misled by the image of the castle ruins on the box. The taste is heavily peated and strong with a good background of …peat smoke, wood notes, bung cloth, coal smoke, dessert wine, apricots, iodine and some very nice maritime notes. The finish is very much of cereals and peat smoke with some later stages of green with a really good delivery of bitter cocoa right at the end. Very dry and peated.  After a short while there is a mild oiliness that is not entirely pleasant however it is very brief and is followed by the dry peat smoke. After 10 minutes there is some really good dry malt and peated. The finish is very long and may cross time zones.
 
Score 83

C$110

http://www.vintagemaltwhisky.com/product-finlaggan.html