Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask
Glenglassaugh cask 5362
84-09 25yo butt
50% ABV
Nose:
Juicy sherry – surprisingly vibrant with summer fruits, pineapple and a little super-sweet toffee.
Palate
Honey, cinnamon, vanilla, red apples, slightly salty oak.
All good so far and a drop or two of water is fine but I’ve taken it too far with a bit more and it’s revealed a vaguely unpleasant sawdusty side to the dram.
3.5/5
Antonia Bruce of Adelphi Distillery, one of Scotland most exclusive Independent Bottlers and Malmaison invite you to an unique whisky tasting. Preview Adelphi’s new summer release of single cask whisky complemented with delicious Malmaison food. Antonia will be sharing her vast whisky knowledge as well as revealing Adelphi’s plans for their brand new distillery. Taste of the new summer collection straight from the barrel for what’s sure to be an unforgettable Sunday afternoon! Sunday 17th of June, 5.00pm, ticket price £42 That’s Mal Life! Bernd Staber Bar Manager
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BenRiach Maltings We are really excited to officially announce that the BenRiach Distillery is going to start making its own malt again. We will be one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland with our own maltings. An update from our distillery manager, Stewart Buchanan: As you all may be aware we have been working hard since the Christmas shutdown getting the BenRiach maltings back up and running. We have been going through the whole system and apart from the odd belt, bearing and a bit of elbow grease, all the conveyers and elevators are now running smooth. Surprisingly, after being shut for the best part of 13 years, the machinery is all in great condition! The next stage is to get some weight on the system to see how it runs under stress. I have 3 tonnes of barley sitting ready to go for a whirl round the floors, and it will be great to hear its blood pumping and the old place coming back to life. The Kiln is working well: the compressor started at the first attempt and when the fire is stoked up the old baffles and fan maintain the heat perfectly. The slightly harder job is to erect a scaffold platform on the underside of the kiln floor to do some maintenance on the diffuser and the floor itself. The maintenance is the easy bit, getting the scaffold in through the hearth is a bit trickier! All going well, it should all be ready in around 10 days maximum. We also have been very lucky with the running side of the plant; the 80’s brewer at BenRiach, Robert Fleming now the manager at Tomatin distillery, took a rummage through his loft and came up with some great information; old steep charts, floor times and temperature log books and kiln charts. Also BenRiach’s ex maltster Andrew Anderson has popped in and given us more personal knowledge of the building – the things that can’t be learnt from any book! This is all invaluable hands-on knowledge and will make the learning curve not quite as steep as it could have been. The mild winter weather has been kind to us; all the boys have mucked in, giving up their weekends to cleaning and painting the place throughout. As a result, the place is looking great if I do say so myself! We may also have been left some other things from yesteryear ……. As some of the boys worked late into the night painting around the steeps, footsteps and voices where heard over at the kiln area on the other side of the building. Thinking it was myself or Les, our engineer, they headed over for a blether, finding no one….They thought we had left and went back to the job in hand. On the second time they heard the noises they shouted over but no reply….On the third time, the paint brushes were dropped and a hasty exit was made! Was it the wind…..??? I shouldn’t be telling you this story, now I’ll never get anyone to turn the floor and stoke the kiln on night shift!!! Until the next update, Slainte! Stewart Buchanan, BenRiach Distillery Manager |
Ok, I’ve already reviewed a pre-production sample of this but bear with me – this is a bottle straight from a whisky shop!
Nice packaging eh? No age statement but it’s a 3yo, obviously.
Last time round I said:
Very fruity, floury sweetness. Pears, acidic pineapple. Some vanilla, maybe a spot of nutmeg?
I can’t argue with that really. The tropical-sweet spirit is strong, the sherry gives balancing spices and a chocolatey warmth that goes all the way down.
A wee splash of water brings it along beautifully.
Still a little spirity (spiritual? Haha) but I actually like that.
Probably still a 4/5. I’ve tasted plenty of <5yo drams before but this stands out because of the care, the thought, the intelligence that's gone into the maturation. Instead of just rushing a 3yo out the door to generate much needed turnover for a new distillery, the chaps (and ladies) at Glenglassaugh have worked hard to make a young dram which is rich, complex and far more mature than it has any right to be.
One to watch, great things are ahead.
Well, an unpeated single malt from Bruichladdich, the first 10yo since the distillery was reopened.
Unpeated? Really?
Salty sea spray, vanilla custard, shortbread, slightly tarry. Gentle, coastal peat.
3.5/5
