Finlaggan Red Wine Cask (70cl, 46%)

A heavily peated Islay single malt, bottled at 46% ABV in a 70cl bottle. Rather than receiving a short red wine finish, it spent its whole maturation in hogsheads that previously held Rioja red wine. The Spanish casks add a rich, mouth-filling berry fruitiness to the smoke, and the whisky takes its copper, rose-gold colour from the oak alone. It is bottled without chill-filtration or added colour. The edition was introduced in April 2019, with a first batch of 7,000 bottles. The nose combines sweetish peat smoke with red berries. On the palate come smoked bacon, strawberries and plums, sea salt and dense, earthy peat, with grape-skin tannins adding a dry edge. The finish is long, with sweetish smoke lingering.