Nose: Grainy, a little sharp. Some citrus and fudge but with a rubbery, sulphurous undertone. It's pretty typical for a bottom-shelf blended scotch nose and reminiscent of Grant's.
Palate: Mildly spicy and hard arrival. Almost metallic cereal notes but hardly any development. Grippy ethanol, like cheap vodka at the core. Some malty notes but veering towards simple burnt sugar, and there's that sulphur note again, rearing it's ugly head. The texture is thin and a bit watery.
Finish: Short, thin and dry. Cereal tastes dwindling into mild bitterness.
Douglas Laing generally produces quality spirits, and some of their blended malts and cask-strength bottlings are excellent. This blended scotch has been part of their portfolio since just after WWII but while older bottlings and special editions command respect and good prices at auction, the modern version of the blend leaves a lot to be desired.
It's not exactly a bad whisky, but it's nondescript and very, very callow. If this whisky was a person who you met socially you'd facepalm and walk away. There is also a dependence on what I feel is very low-grade grain whisky at the core, teamed with rather rough and industrial malt. Girvan and immature Glenrothes? Could be.
My overall impression was one of neglect - like it's a legacy product that is still being produced to satisfy a guaranteed and loyal niche clientele, but Douglas Laing really don't care about it very much or put in the effort to create something special.
It's outclassed by just about every other blended scotch in that price band and I would certainly not recommend it.
"Poor" : 64/100 (1.25 stars)
50.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@cascode Yeah, I've tried a few bottles in the past couple months that I concluded weren't worth $8 either. Or even $1, if I was going to be drinking them. Thanks for taking one for the team on this one.
Haha I was going to say pretty much the same thing @WhiskeyLonghorn !
@--910 IMHO US$8/bottle is still too expensive :)
In our country a bottle is less than 8 USD, 50 AUD is really too expensive
@WhiskeyLonghorn Ha - thank you 😀
@PBMichiganWolverine A very good question, my friend. It has an interesting history. Supposedly it was first created in 1886 and over time became a well-know export blend. It's ownership (in the U.K.) fell into American hands, probably around prohibition but in 1948 Fred Douglas Laing bought the brand name and created a new blend based on three casks of whisky he acquired along with the name. It was the foundation of the Douglas Laing company fortunes and was popular for about 40 years but I strongly suspect it is, as I said in the review, now just a legacy blend bought by a few old-timers who have a nostalgic connection and are so used to the profile that anything else tastes odd.
@WhiskeyLonghorn @cascode I wonder who the marketing audience is for this
“If this whisky was a person who you met socially you'd facepalm and walk away.” I think you win the award for most pithy whisky descriptor for the year. I laughed for a good minute at that!