Speyside distillery that is, not Speyside region. Aged for 21 years and bottled by Douglas Laing in the Old Particular series.
This doesn’t seem to be the other cask ref. DL12019 that Serge and others have reviewed – it had a much darker colour and this is a tad lighter. Mind that both have exactly the same ABV… confusing.
Speyside 21 yo 1996
(51,5%, Douglas Laing ‘Old Particular’ 2018, sherry butt, DL12614, 215 btl.)
Speyside 21 yo 1996Nose: starts on lots of roasted things, say scorched wood, charcoal, roasted chestnuts and a hint of unused matchsticks… but without any of the dirty nuances. Moves towards pipe tobacco, prunes and toffee. Candy apple. Forest fruit jam. Milk chocolate. Some candied ginger.
Mouth: interesting. It has some classic markers like leather, chocolate and yellow prunes, but also a distinctive flavour of mangosteen. Never had that in a whisky. It’s slightly candied, even artificial in a way but not disturbing. Then back to tobacco, fruit cake and a hint of coffee.
Finish: quite long, drying, on treacle and chocolate.
This shows some deep sherry aromas but always with a certain elegance. The uncommon touches are also great. Sold out in most places except for the Green Welly Stop.
Score: 87/100