Huh? Een 9e distileerderij op Islay? Nee... dat niet. Maar... Single malt van Islay: Finlaggan. Wat is dat dan? Men wist me te vertellen dat het afkomstig is van een van de distilleerderijen van Islay. Welke dan? Ja meneer... ook wij weten dat niet!. Jaja... wazig... Even Google'n dan:
The pictures have no relation with the Finlaggan distillery. Anyway, the Finlaggan distillery does not exist. The whisky marketed under this name is named after the residence of the Lord of the Isles.
Finlaggan is one of the best kept secrets on the Isle of Islay. The distillery who produces this whisky is very discreet about it. The character of this exceptional whisky reminds those of the distillery Lagavulin.
The Finlaggan castle (in ruines now) was the residence of the "Lord of the Isles", who dominated Scotland in those times.
Here is something I found on a forum on the web about 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."
Now, the reply:
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.
Bron: Whisky-Distilleries.info
Van Zuylen schrijft zonder twijfel: "...ook afkomstig van de Lagavulin distilleerderij", maar ook "Finlaggan Islay Single Malt is een malt afkomstig van een Islay distilleerderij, waar de naam geheim van wordt gehouden."
Ik heb vanmiddag een expressie van deze Finlaggan geproefd en mij deed het denken aan een zachte, lichte Ardbeg. In ieder geval lekker en je hebt dus een goede Islay Single Malt voor een erg mooie prijs!
Dacht eerst dat dit een Laphroaig zou zijn door de connectie met het boek...
)