The Epicurean Blended Malt

Rating: 9/23 I know nothing about this. It's a blended malt from the Lowlands, which is a bit of a surprise since I usually think of that region for its grain production. N: Not a big nose. It's young and light, with a lot of alcohol coming through. I get some grain - not very malted - and also some tartness along with sulfur, which I must say is not a very appealing combination. Not a good nose. P: Not as bad as I feared it would be. It's clearly quite young, but the higher proof accentuates the grain and cereal flavors. It's fairly light and I surprisingly get fairly little of the sulfur from the nose and what I do get largely fits in with a somewhat smoky flavor to the not-so-malted grain. There's a lot of alcohol in here. There's also something a hint fruity (light, like apple, pear, peach) and perhaps vaguely floral (perhaps a hint of vanilla), but this is really just all about the grain. It's on the harsh side, but I can forgive a little of that considering the proof. It's hard to tell if there's pepper in it because of the harshness, but there might be. It's gradually quite numbing, so maybe there's some clove in it. The complexity is so-so and the balance is tragically fairly off. F: The alcohol lingers, but I also get some hay. It's a bit more bitter on the finish and some smoke like burnt grass wafts up. It lasts a while and has a clean grassy field character to it. I don't like this, but I could stand to drink a pour of it. It's too young with too many problems in its profile. It reminds me a lot of Auchentoshan, which I enjoy at older ages, but struggle to appreciate at younger ones. I like Sir Edward's 12 better because of its richness and sweetness, but not tremendously better. It is without doubt a couple of steps up from Grant's. Seems like a 9. If this costs anything over $20, it isn't worth it, but at $15, it would be reasonably priced. $46?! Hard pass.

Un whisky salin avec des notes fruitées très agréables.

On nose: herbs, fresh, some grain. Palate: light, then herbal spices. With some water herbal stuff transforms to more peppery notes. Aftertaste: some oaky bitterness, herbal spices. After sitting in the glass for a while, it got to be less harsh, bit better for me.

I will be reviewing all of the core expression of Douglas Laing Blended Whiskies, absolutely the most fun and good looking bottles in the market. I'll start with the most simple one: the epicurean. The story about this epicurean guy that is shown in the bottle is that he was a 1930 person who like the best of food and drinks. This is a blend from lowland malts... pretty interesting. Bottled at 46.2%abv. On the nose: Dry orange cake. Chantilly cream. Raisins. Tobacco. On the palate: very bitter, tobbaco notes and some citric lime notes. Finish medium long, with a very pleasant ginger note. Overall i give this dram a 78 over 100, it is an easy drink even for 46.2%abv. I Love the bottle. Slainte!