Episode 20: Finlaggan Old Reserve Islay Single Malt Whisky

The Pot Still Column: Episode 20

Finlaggan {Old Reserve} Islay Single Malt Whisky

Proof: 80

Age: NAS

Finish: Peated

Source: Undisclosed Islay Distillery

Price: $19.99

Finlaggan Islay Single Malt Scotch is the budget peated whisky that you should've been buying all along. You needn't read more... but you should.

A handful of other reviewers have covered the budget Islay in recent years, so the secret is partially out of the bag, but Finlaggan is hardly ever discussed among hardcore whisky drinkers. The scotch is sold exclusively by Trader Joes in the United States, although it does appear to exist outside of the grocery store chain in countries other than the US. The source is a closely kept secret, something that always bothers me, but far less so when it comes to scotch because the end product is almost always good. Rumors that the whisky is sourced from Lagavulin or Caol Ila have circulated, but none have taken root. At a price of $19.99, one would be hard pressed to find a more budget-friendly single malt, much less a peated single malt. Expectations are low, but that's part of the charm that Finlaggan brings to the table.

Being a peated whisky, I can smell it from a meter away, and the nose is shockingly good. My immediate impression is that this reminds me of Highland Park, although I am well aware that the whisky is from Islay, an island on the completely opposite side of Scotland from Highland Park's Orkney Isles. Regardless, there is a sweet and buttery cherry note that reminds me of the Orkney distillery, and suggests that Finlaggan might have been finished in sherry casks. There is not enough brine on the nose for this to be from Laphroaig or Ardbeg, so I could believe the rumors that this is a young Lagavulin. The easiest Islay whisky to source is supposedly Caol Ila, but I've never actually tried anything from that distillery outside of blends, so declaring that as the source would be a partially educated guess at best. Whatever the source, it is only one distillery, and there are nine on Islay, so I have an 11% chance of guessing correctly. Better than my odds of getting accepted to Yale Law!

The information on the bottle suggests that the whisky contains notes of peat smoke, ocean breeze, sweet malt, tar, and iodine. While an AI software could have easily generated those descriptors from a large enough sample of Reddit posts about Islay scotch, the description is not entirely inaccurate. It is obviously peaty, although it is a very gentle peat, not dry and domineering as it is in so many other Islay scotches. While "ocean breeze" sounds too much like a Febreze air freshener product, I do smell it. The seaside smells bring forth memories of beached kelp, salty sand, and sea wind (I didn't want to say ocean breeze, but yes, it is ocean breeze). The sweet malt description is very accurate, although I would add that it smells specifically like maraschino cherries and spiced cranberry sauce. The rest of the nose consists of a gentle smokiness, although I would firmly categorize this as a malt-forward whisky with a fruity character that is surprisingly rich at 40% ABV.

Where the nose was rich, the taste is slightly more muted, bringing out more of the chemical band-aid notes that make Islay scotch so divisive. Something about the sweetness of the malt brings out the iodine and chemical flavors of the peat profile more than smoke or char. While it is less expressive than the nose, the flavor is in no way lacking, and I could sip this all day. As is the case with just about any peated whisky, the finish is just short of everlasting and carries an ashy smoke. Not the greatest finish, especially for an Islay, but great in the big picture.

This whisky is a relic from when I first began exploring whisky, it has had plenty of time to open up and evolve in the bottle. I am tempted to pick up a fresh bottle to see how it has changed. After this review, I might just do that, as the experience I am having now is making me consider a backup in case it gains some recognition and becomes hard to find. There are no recognizable faults in this whisky. It may not be incredibly complex or thought-provoking, but it is very tasty, satisfyingly peaty, and one of the only peated budget scotches in existence. A bottle of Islay single malt from any distillery will generally cost a consumer at least 40 smackaroos, regardless of the proof or distillery. Even blended scotches, often only minimally peated, are becoming more difficult to find for an appealing price. At $19.99, the quality of this young Islay single malt outweighs the cost several times over.

Closing Impression:

This whisky is a very pleasant surprise. If given to me blindly, I would likely never guess that it is a budget option. For those who like peated scotch, this is an easy buy, especially for less than $20. The proof, while bottomed out at a measly 40%, is not nearly as weak as it could be, and there is just as much flavor here as one might find in a more "premium" option. This is a great bottle to have around for those who prefer drinking peated scotch but don't want to burn through their expensive single malts too quickly. I have had some terrible budget whiskies, and this is simply not one of them. Consider my seal of approval bestowed.

Nose: 81

Taste: 76

Finish: 75

Overall: 77/100