ContemplativeFox
The Epicurean Blended Malt
Blended Malt — Lowlands, Scotland
Reviewed
September 5, 2020 (edited September 8, 2020)
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.
46.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@CKarmios I failed to mention this in my tasting, but this reminded me a lot of Auchentoshan, which I enjoy at older ages, but struggle to appreciate at younger ones.
@cascode Interesting that you say that. I opened my Rock Oyster mini a couple of nights back and quite enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to trying the others.
@cascode that's a fair point. There's Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie and Bladnoch. More recently, Daftmill, Rosebank. Oh and Ailsa Bay. I bet we can taste the Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie in it. By the by, I hear Ailsa Bay's peated whisky is worth a taste.
Of all the Regional Malts series, this is my least favourite and the only one of which I've never bought a bottle. I thought you summed it up pretty well. Their problem with this is most likely a lack of choice for the vatting. Same as with the Campbeltown "Gauldrons" blend, which is transparently a teaspooned Glen Scotia.
@CKarmios I do happen to have another mini of this, so I'll do another tasting sometime. I also have some other Douglas Liang blends that I'm looking forward to trying, so I might like some of those better. Seeing as as this is a NAS blend, I have to assume that my bottle was fine. If I rate it higher on a subsequent tasting, it will probabaly indicate a difference in state of my palate. Even in this tasting, I found this to be serviceable, but fairly mild and harsh with a pretty high price tag.
@ContemplativeFox surprised to read your reaction on this bottling. All 6 of Douglas Laing’s Regional Malts, whilst not necessarily remarkable, normally score quite high with reviewers. Any chance you got a bad bottle?
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington yeah, it's way too much to pay for the quality. I thought it might be as much as $30 but was really expecting $25, at which price it really wouldn't have been so bad.
This reads like stepping on a land mine - $46 is a hearty sum. On the upside there will be those hidden gems out there as well but this is unfortunate.