The Gauldrons (Douglas Laing)

The Gauldrons is the last member of the Remarkable Regional Malts series, which includes other blended malts like Big Peat, Scallywag, The Epicurean… The only region missing was Campbeltown and given the limited amount of active distilleries in the region, this expression should be based around Springbank and Glen Scotia whisky.

The Gauldrons name comes from the sandy coves on Campbeltown’s west shores and literally means bay of storms. It refers to the local legend of King Robert the Bruce, who was defeated by his enemies but was inspired to carry on fighting by a spider building his web in this bay.

The Gauldrons (46,2%, Douglas Laing 2017, Small Batch #01)

Nose: starts on cooked grains, yellow apples as well as some dry, dusty / sandy notes. It’s maritime, oily and fairly full-bodied, with a gentle peaty note, but ithere’s also a sweetness to it and seems to miss some of the Springbank austerity. More Glen Scotia in there perhaps.

Mouth: again quite oily, with salty dough, pepper and light smoke. Earthy notes, rounded by some honey. Some youngish fruity notes (banana, pear). Tequila. Hints of nutmeg. Becomes spicier and grainier over time.

Finish: medium, with some peppery heat and salty peat.

Probably a fairly ‘minimal’ vatting and a good marriage of flavours. Campbeltown whiskies generally have heaps of character, making this one of the better expressions in the series in my opinion. Around € 55 from The Whisky Exchange for instance.

Score: 82/100