Glenturret 1987 28 Year Old Particular (Douglas Laing)

It’s a miserable rainy day here in Michigan and I needed to find something to lift my spirits (pun intended). A nice well aged single malt should be the perfect remedy. I grabbed this sample of 28 year old Glenturret from the Old Particular line from independent bottler Douglas Laing that was given to me by my Georgia Bourbon Society connection @garyaturner . It was distilled in December of 1987 and bottled in November of 2016 from refill hogshead cask #DL11511 and was one of 232 bottles selected as a store pick for K&L Wines. It’s bottled at 49.7% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of yellow gold. The nose is subdued at first with mostly vanilla, honey and a spicy, yet restrained oak. As it opens up the wood spice becomes more focused with cloves and cinnamon and some oak shavings. It’s damp and musty like old cardboard boxes left to sit in a basement. More time in the glass however, reveals a wonderful bouquet of fruity aromas like dried pineapple, toasted coconut, kiwi, cantaloupe, peaches, and papaya with more vanilla following. Some spearmint and eucalyptus with a light cranberry. It transitions into a more savory profile with caramel, coffee, weak black tea, toffee, butterscotch and more honey. The oak comes back into play, but more tannic and bitter than before. It ends with cocoa powder, milk chocolate and more of that sweet vanilla. The palate is rich and full flavored. Lots of sweet vanilla followed immediately by intense tropical fruits. Mango, pineapple, coconut, orange-pineapple juice, and a hint of banana. Some heat but it’s a nice low burn. Some light oaky notes and tannins, but it’s mostly just saturated with those tropical fruits. A hint of cocoa powder and a bit of lemon custard. A full bodied mouthfeel that is creamy, mouth coating and mouthwatering. The finish is medium long with those tropical fruits, vanilla and milk chocolate, but the mouthfeel sensation just goes on and on and on. This is one hell of a bourbon matured scotch. In my opinion, exclusive bourbon maturation should be either under 12 or over 25 years old. Under 12 to be used with heavily peated whisky to let the spirit shine, and over 25 for lighter single malts and grain whiskies to really bring out the potential of both whisky and wood. Anything between those is usually a waste (exceptions of course are there and when combining with other cask types that’s all out the window). If you see a bottle from the Old Particular line you should probably just go ahead and buy it, I don’t think I’ve had a bad one yet. A solid 4.5 Cheers