[Quick Review] The Gauldrons - Batch 5 (Douglas Laing) 46.2%

 

Picture courtesy of www.scotchwhisky.com


Bottler: Douglas Laing
Age: NAS
Distilled: n/a
Bottled: n/a
Cask: n/a
Abv: 46.2%
Unchillfiltered: Yes
Natural Colour: Yes
Nb of bottles: n/a
Extra: The Gauldrons is part of a range of 6 Blended Malt whiskies released by Douglas Laing, each focusing on a Scottish region (The Epicurian - Lowlands, Timorous Beastie - Highlands, Scallywag - Speyside, Rock Oyster - Islands and Big Peat - Islay)


Nose: Sweet, fruity and maritime. Cereal, apricot, vanilla, a little wax, quite creamy. A touch of cedar wood and citrus, hints of brine and thyme, chalky and some milk chocolate. That reminds me more of Glen Scotia than Springbank... Very promising!

Palate: A little thin at first on the mouthfeel despite being 46.2%. Citrus, spices, some bitter elements, dry wood, some honeycomb sweetness as well and hints of aniseed. After a very promising nose, I feel slightly let down by the palate. I think I was expecting a little more.
 
Finish: Oak, black pepper, a little bitterness there too, fresh pizza dough and still a little aniseed kicking around.

With water: The complexity of the nose disappears with a few drops of water leaving me mainly with vanilla sweetness and citrus notes. The palate becomes drier and more bitter, more unbalanced in my mind. The finish is quite spicy / peppery with some brown sugar around. I would personally keep away from water with this one!


Overall, after a very promising nose, I felt slightly let down by the palate. The 'Campbeltown Blended Malt' got me very excited but I am not sure it fully lived up to my expectations... I must bear in mind I am drinking from a sample here rather than a full bottle so cannot see how the whisky evolves over time.
For a £45~50 price tag for a bottle, it is not bad at all, even if I'd probably pick up a bottle of Glen Scotia Double Cask first!

Slàinte!


Thank you to Douglas Laing for the sample and the glass.




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