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Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Glen Flagler 100% Pot Still All-Malt Scotch (black label)

Ah yes, my first and last Glen Flagler. There were several of these "100% Pot Still" "All-Malt" releases, some apparently better than others. Here's a terrible picture of the bottle from which today's sample comes:


You may be wondering what the heck is a "Glen Flagler". It was a single malt distilled from 1965 to 1985 by Inver House in a set of pot stills next to the Garnheath grain whisky distillery in the Moffat facility in the Lowlands. That same facility also produced Killyloch and Islebrae single malts, though for an even shorter period of time. Though Glen Flagler was primarily dumped into Inver House's blended whiskies (Pinwhinnie!), it did escape intact in these All-Malt bottlings as well as about a dozen independent releases.


Distillery: Glen Flagler
Ownership: Inver House Distillers
Region: Lowlands
Age: ???
Maturation: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Chillfiltered? ???
Colorant added? probably not
(sample from a paid LASC event)

NOTES
The nose starts off light and fruity with a slight industrial edge, like a dusty Irish blend. There are yellow peaches, dried apricots, honey and limes. It picks up an OBE metallic edge with time in the glass. The palate has a minty creme note, followed by a lemon creme note. Touches of vanilla extract and brown sugar. More citrus notes with time, tilting towards freshly baked lemon bars. It also has a bit of the nose's industrial note that makes it read faintly smoky. The surprisingly long finish is moderately sweet and tart, think lemons and clementines. A hint of bitterness lends it some complexity.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
With its silky mouthfeel and generous finish, this Glen Flagler pulls all it can out of its 40%abv. It's a very pleasant and gentle whisky that probably would have found some success two decades after the distillery closed. The Lowlands could use a good whisky like this particular bottling which is considerably better than most (or all) official things coming out of Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan. I can't promise all Glen Flagler is this good, but I hope folks will open, enjoy and share the remaining bottles out there.

Availability - ???
Pricing - ???
Rating - 86