Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts has been around for years, but one thing has been missing. That has been rectified now, as Douglas Laing launched a Campbeltown blended malt, The Gauldrons. That means they have a blended malt from every Scottish whisky region.
Campbeltown is the smallest of regions, with only three distilleries, one of which only produces a few months every year. I am of course talking about Glengyle (better known by their brandname Kilkerran). This small sister distiller of Springbank only plans to produce 60.000 liters in 2017. It is highly unlikely any of that spirit has found their way to Douglas Laing (or any other independent bottler for that matter).
That leaves Springbank and Glen Scotia. There must be some whisky of each distillery included in this vatting. Springbank is highly sought after, and can be sold at a premium under its original name. Therefore, I don’t believe there will be a high amount of Springbank in The Gauldrons. From a business perspective, that just doesn’t make sense.
So realistically The Gauldrons should contain mostly whisky from Glen Scotia. I like Glen Scotia. I think it is an underrated distillery, mainly because the other big distillery in its region is Springbank, one of the most legendary distilleries in Scotland.
But anyway, all of this doesn’t matter one bit. Because while I think my reasoning is pretty good, I could still be completely wrong. Let’s just taste The Gauldrons, shall we? Because in the end, that’s all that really matters.
The Gauldrons (46,2%, Douglas Laing, Batch #01)
Nose: Starting off with some cookie dough, sweet barley and vanilla custard, as well as a fair amount of lemon peel. A touch of pickled lemon too. Only a whisper of smoke.
Taste: Oily and fruity (lemons, peaches), with sweet marzipan. Also a touch of brine and black pepper. Pretty dry. Again, the smoke is very subtle.
Finish: Medium in length, with pears and a sliver of peat.
Rating: 79
The balance is good, the flavours are rich, but it is a little sweet for my taste. Campbeltown is Springbank and Glen Scotia for me, which I wouldn’t classify as sweet, but rather peaty, mineral-y and with some rougher edges.
I really do wonder what whisky was used for this vatting. If anyone from Douglas Laing wishes to share this information, just drop me an e-mail and I’ll include it. Or leave a comment 🙂
Sample provided by Douglas Laing
This whisky seems to be discontinued. Any idea why?
I’ve not heard about this. However, it is a whisky that they release in batches. Also, it is still available from DL’s website. So I wouldn’t say it is discontinued.