GLEN ELGIN 1985 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

There's been much confusion lately :-O Douglas Laing was split up earlier this year - now it's Hunter Laing, Douglas Laing and old and new brands, one of the new being 'Old Particular' from Douglas Laing... I actually had to visit their respective websites to find out who releases what these days - oh, the joys of being a whisky nerd :-))

Anyway, I'm not gonna dwell on this company split, but instead I'll move on to the whisky and distillery itself.

Founded in 1898 on the Rothes to Elgin road (closest to Elgin) its production mainly ends up in Diageo's White Horse blend - a brand associated with this distillery for many years.

My first experience with Glen Elgin actually goes back some 8-9 years, I think... and the experience was a pleasant one. The expression was the standard 12yo and I still remember it as very mouth filling, fruity and carrying a spicy edge.... Its been a while since I've tried it and I'm sure my tastebuds have progressed quite a bit since then also, but its a malt I still wouldn't turn down if offered.

I remember one of the features often mentioned about Glen Elgin Distillery is its wormtubs condensers outside its stillhouse. Now, I briefly covered wormtubs in this review but those are bit different than those found at Glen Elgin. You have to go to another Diageo distilleries, either Mortlach in Dufftown or Dalwhinnie off the A9 to find similar style condensers.

You don't really see alot of bottlings of Glen Elgin, neither OBs or IBs, so I suggest try one if you come across it.

Glen Elgin Distillery w/ wormtubs on left - Picture from Wikimedia

Glen Elgin 1985 (xx.05.1985/xx.05.2009) 24yo, 44,9%, refill hogshead#5124, 250 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Colour is pale straw

Nose:
Vanilla and cookie dough, hint of white wine, lemon cake, freshly sliced apples

Taste:
Orange marmalade, sweet barley sugar, grassy, marzipan, finishes on a little bitter oak and malt.

A bit simple, but straight and honest malt from a well used cask, lots of spirit character there, IMO and a pleasant session dram.

Thanks to UB for the sample!

82/100!

ARDBEG 1976 24YO - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Now that the latest gimmick on LVMH Ardbeg promotion tour has seen the light of day in the form of a hot rod tractor, I just had to get back to the good old Ardbeg days from before marketing departments were more important than the product.

I also acknowledge that a distillery is a business and not philanthropy, so I'm not gonna start a rant on how much the industry is now paying these marketing privateers or how much it actually adds to the final price of a whisky, but my guess is its a nice percentage... Does anyone know?

But IF you like a good rant (and I know you do) Here's a recent one from Belgian blogger Ruben who runs whiskynotes.be - I think he's very much laying it out straight how many of us whisky geeks feel... Do give it a read incl. the comments other have made...

Casks at Ardbeg being hosed to prevent them from cracking, 4th May 2011 © The Malt Desk 

But back to the Ardbeg from yesteryear...

Ardbeg 1976 24yo (xx.03.1976/xx.08.2000) 50%, Refill sherry cask, 648 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask for World of Whiskies

Similar bottle shown

Colour is bright gold

Nose:
Very subdued peat and then lemon and pineapple concentrate, a myriad of seashore smells, seaweed, salt, wet rocks, tar and cured meats and salami and even fresh linen.

Taste:
More Ardbeggian now... starting on spicy old oak, but is still huge on lovely mellow citrus notes until the damp peat arrives in full force with dried sugared fruits. Also cardboard, old cigar box and tobacco notes, leather polish, old fino sherry and linseed oil.

Don't add water to this one - it completely kills off the overly delicious nose!

Great dram from before... well, you know :-/

91/100! ...and thanks to MBO for the sample

'TACTICAL' (TALISKER) 1999 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

It's been 3½ years since I've been to the Isle of Skye... and I'm beginning to think its been too long now, since I'm absolutely captivated by its rugged landscape providing some of the most stunning views in Scotland. I absolutely love the drive around the north of the island and over to Elgol from where you can get some amazing views of the mighty Cuillin hills.

Skye's only distillery - Talisker - is also a regular stop to me when I've been to Skye. It's a peppery medium peated dram is a good winter warmer and the 10yo is a great standard dram.
I've also enjoyed a bottle of the 57' North Talisker, but what really stuns me is their older expressions - the 20yo-25yo bottlings are world class drams... I've not yet have a chance to try one of their 30yo expressions, let alone the 35yo :-O

Talisker is one of those distilleries we don't see many independent bottlings from, so I always welcome a chance to try one. I've had a couple of indie Taliskers before I started The Malt Desk, but didn't take notes on them, but on that really stood out as an absolute cracker was the 1992 14yo 58,8% by French bottler Jean Boyer.

Talisker warehouse, Isle of Skye, 14th October 2009 - © The Malt Desk

This time I'll be reviewing a 10yo - a fun thing to do since the standard Talisker release is also a 10yo, though it it hardly compariable since the 10yo I'll be reviewing is a single cask.

Douglas Laing must have an standing agreement with Diageo and Talisker not to name the distillery name on the label (much like they do with Glenfarclas) so this release is called...

'Tactical' 1999 (xx.12.1999/xx.12.2009) 10yo, 50% refill bourbon hogshead#DL5704, 354 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask series

Colour is pale yellow

Nose:
Seaside, kelp and salt but also very farmyardy with sweet manure like smell, sweet peat, touch of vanilla and mint... a bit disappointing but that is it...

Taste:
Peated wash and yeasty, fresh cut grass then peat again, some oak spices and barley juice and a bit of stale beer.

Must say this was a bit of a disappointment on the palate as well and one of the few duds from Douglas Laing - but you can't win them all :-/

I'd take the standard 10yo distillery bottling over this any time!

Thanks to MBO for the sample!

79/100!

IMPERIAL 1976 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Imperial Distillery in Carron, Speyside... where should I start? a lot of Imperial has been drunk since, like with Caperdonich, a certain well known whisky ambassador (back then with one indie bottler, but now with another) started the gospel of this forgotten distillery.

Again, like with Caperdonich, things soon started to catch on and more and more bottlings saw the light of day and now Imperial has a loyal group of followers/drinkers.

Sadly the distillery was closed/mothballed back in 1998 and the site has sadly seen some copper scavengers in the last few years, but now its gone forever. Current site owners Chivas/Pernod Ricard started demolishing the site around New Years 2012/2013, currently only leaving the old warehouses and are to build a new super distillery on the grounds... this gave Imperial Distillery a good 100 years (built 1897) on and off production on the site - Will the new distillery be there for just as long?

Many of the expressions that started hitting the market a while back have been between 12-20yos... Let's see how this older expression compares with them:

Imperial Distillery 26th August 2012 - © The Malt Desk

Imperial 1976 35yo (xx.10.1976/xx.10.2011) 50%, refill sherry butt#DL7431, 443 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Colour is straw

Nose:
Oak spicy, then grains, oils, dried (tropical?) fruits, old malt barn and cigar box.

Taste:
Spicy and sherried dried fruit arrival, a bit of nutty bitterness and spices all sorts and a hint of smoke. Water makes the whole thing a lot more creamy and gives it a nice natural sweet caramel and huge malt finish with hints of wood.

So sad to see this lovely old place gone and last but not least its malt!
This is a lovely expression for sure! RIP Imperial!

89/100!

GLENALLACHIE 1972 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Another hidden Speysider is Glenallachie. It's a new distillery in historical terms, having been built in in 1967-68. It's owned by the Chivas Group and it produces in excess of 3.000.000 liters of alcohol each year, almost all going into blends.

Glenallachie Distillery, Speyside Spring 2011 © The Malt Desk

Glenallachie doesn't have a an official bottling, except for an expression in the Chivas 50cl Cask Strength Series, which also means its far from readily available for you to try as a malt.

Luckily a few casks escape the blenders and this one I'm about to review is one of them... and oh, my... is it a special one...!

Glenallachie 1972 38yo xx.03.1972/xx.01.2011 50% Sherry butt#DL6880, 302 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Amber coloured

Nose:
What a strange one, indeed...Fresh black engine oil, milk chocolate/latte? also giving off some incredible cigar box notes and a feeling of stepping into a mechanics pit... Its a 'dirty' nose for sure - but it works!

Taste:
Bitter sweet, dark fruits with a smoky edge, hazelnuts and creamy coffee and again with a very oily dirty diesel feeling to it - then some cappucino notes and more old cigar box.

This has to be the strangest whisky I've had in 2012, so far... it all sounds very funky and/or repulsive... but its not - at least not to me!

This climbs way up there to 90/100!

MORTLACH 1992 16YO - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

We go back to the Malt Whisky capital of the world, Dufftown for this next review.
Specifically we go to Mortlach distillery - a favourite of many, mainly due to the success of the 16yo Flora and Fauna Distillery bottling - but we go visit the indies once again.

Mortlach 1992 16yo xx.09.1992/xx.12.2008 50%, Sherry butt#DL4797, 582 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Colour is Amber

Nose:
Heavy, meaty and sweet oloroso, sugared raisins, mulled wine, licorice and hard wood - also thinking coffee with a dash of milk?. Great Mortlach nose, for sure!

Taste:
Lighter arrival than expected, anise. menthol, vanillas and milk chocolate. The meaty Mortlach finish carries through on a good creamy sherry coating.

A great Mortlach for sure, this one! Bottled 4 years ago this little beauty is probably gone now... but if you do see one, buy it - it won't let you down!

89/100!

SPEYSIDE'S FINEST 1967 (GLENFARCLAS) - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART VI

Yet another of these usually very great but undisclosed (but still common knowledge) Glenfarclas' from Douglas Laing.

The last couple of years have seen the Speyside's Finest-bottlings move from the Old Malt Cask-series, along side Ardbeg and Port Ellen, into this bottlers premium series - the Old & Rare Platinum... sadly with a large price increase too.

Anyway, these old GF's are as I mentioned usually top notch whisky. That said I had one earlier this year in the Old & Rare Platinum series that IMO never should have been bottled. You can find info on it in the archives on the left hand side of the page.

Hopefully this one wont let us down:

Speyside's Finest 1967 41yo 50% xx.11.1967/xx.05.2009 sherrybutt#DL5159, 305 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Deep gold in colour

Nose:
Didnt expect a heavily sherried nose, like som some other SF-bottlings, due to the lighter colour of this one. It gives more of a dusting of sherry notes, like a hint of berries, some ginger and nutmeg and very gently measure of oak.

Taste:
Very nice drinking strength these 50% - again not the heaviest of arrivals, but everything comes in just the right amounts. I'm thinking malt liquorice tea, hint of cherry wine? ginger spice(d) (yes, pun intended) and finally a litte chocolate and minty oak.

Very nice dram!

90/100!

ST. MAGDALENE 1982 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART V

Southeast of Alloa and the demolished Carsebridge Distillery reviewed in the last post, we find the town of Linlithgow. Besides being the birthplace of Mary - Queen of Scots. Linlithgow is also near the Union Canal - the old waterway used to transport goods between Edinburg and Glasgow in the good old days.

Up until 1983 - the town also had the St. Magdalene/Linlithgow Distillery.
The name St. Magdalene comes from the name of the leper colony/hospital that used to be on site during different periods from the 12th century and on... Today the old distillery buildings have been turned into apartments.

On to the whisky:

St. Magdalene 1982 28yo 50% xx.09.1982/xx.11.2010, refill butt#6810,439 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Lemon, honey and sweet breakfast cereals

Taste:
Honey Melon, a green and citric note - like standing in a citrus grove, hint of aniseed and malt. Sweet bakery note as well. Lovely - could drink this all night!

89/100!

MORTLACH 1997 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART III

Next distillery one up is a favorite of many whisky anoraks - and with good reason too...
Mortlach can be nothing short of sublime! That said, some terrible stuff has also been bottled by independant bottlers from time to time (sulphury stuff), but generally the output is of very high quality!

BTW, did you know that Mortlach was the first distillery in Dufftown to install electric lighting? and William Grant, the founder of Glenfiddich used to work at Mortlach before starting to distill himself?

Let's try this one:

Mortlach 1997 13yo 50% xx.09.1997/xx.09.2010 refill hogshead#6574, 424 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Hang on - something immediately hits the eye here... 424 bottles from a hogshead, which is usually 250 liters and should yield 357 bottles with 0% evaporation - is this a typo from Douglas Laing and is this really a well used sherry butt? Its also possible (though rare) to see larger casks that are still labeled 'hogshead'.

Oh well, lets taste this:

Straw coloured

Nose:
Fruits, spices, an strange oak nip, wet grain?

Taste:
Vanillaed fruits, like covered in cake creme, pepper? nice rich mouthfeel

Maybe a tad simple but it works - a straightforward, real easy to drink Mortie


85/100!

ABERFELDY 1994 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART I

It's time to do an 8 part on the different series from Glasgow indie bottler Douglas Laing.
They do different series of bottlings and the ones that I'll be reviewing here are:

Old Malt Cask, Douglas McGibbon Provenance, Premier Barrel and Hunter Hamilton Clan Denny

Besides those they do a couple of undisclosed malts like 'Big Peat' and and a series called 'Double Barrel' and of course their ultra premium range 'Old & Rare Platinum' and 'Director's Cut'...and even mentioning these, I've forgotten some.

You can read more about Douglas Laing here and of course find their complete brands list there, too.

First one up in this review series is bottling of the highland distillery, Aberfeldy, usually associated with Dewar's...

Aberfeldy 1994 16yo 50% xx.06.1994/xx.12.2010, refill hogshead#6844, 350 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Fresh cut grass, lemons, hints of malt and mash

Taste:
Very nice arrival on white tinned fruits, some oak spices and an oily feel to it, without it sticking to your mouth, very fresh and satisfying.

A very pleasant surprise, this one!

87/100!

UNDISCLOSED MALTS

Speyside's Finest (Glenfarclas) 1966 43yo, xx.06.1966/xx.10.2009, 48,2% sherry butt#5525, 197 bottles by Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask for The Whisky Show, London

Nose:
Oloroso, Amaretto, Coffee, slightly burnt suger notes

Taste:
Clean cut sherry delivery with chocolate raisins and X-mas Cake, cloves?
Goes on and on and on, 3 drops of water takes away the few bitter oak notes that was found -
A stunner!

91/100! (tasted 16-11-2010)