This month we offer you three (3) new bottlings under the OLD MALT CASK label –one (1) new OLD & RARE – two (2) CLAN DENNY Old Grain releases, three (3) ADVANCE SAMPLES and two (2) from the DIRECTOR’S CUT selection.

Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK follow:

 OMC 2195 Inchgower 16 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Initial caramelised oranges warm to rich spices + polished oak
Palate: sweet & mouth coating, developing to soft leather and sweet spice
Finish: Long, now drier – runs to a more tannic/oaked/camphor character (J)

OMC 2196 Macallan 16 Year Old
Nose: Spiced + polished oak + wooden fruit boxes & ripe apples
Palate: Sweet & malty – develops to a warmingly spiced tablet style
Finish: Long, spicy with ripe bananas – now runs drier + an oak tang (J)

OMC 2199 Allt A’ Bhainne 21 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Richly spiced – sweet & nutty – carrying a hazelnut praline style
Palate: Mouth coating – warmingly spiced – still nutty + butterscotch
Finish: Long & richly spiced + a cigar boxes & cedar wood character (J)

The 3 Advance Samples OLD MALT CASK are as follows:

SMC0428 Glen Spey 10 YEARS
SMC0433 Tamdhu 14 YEARS
SMC0434 Aberlour 12 YEARS

Tasting Notes for the OLD & RARE release:

OAR 0176 Highland Park 27 Year Old
The nose opens with a sweet, macerated fruit quality that runs to a softly smoked character. Equally sweet, now mouth coatingly spiced on the palate, it carries a vanilla tablet style developing to a late burnt oak style. The finish is long – still sweetly spiced with late soft smoke lingering. (J)

Tasting Notes for CLAN DENNY:

DEN 0087 Cambus 37 Year Old
Opens sweetly spiced on the nose, carrying a tangy, caramelised oranges quality with a dark chocolate style. The palate is warming and mouth coating, still spicy with a salty butterscotch (salt toffee) character. The finish is surprisingly long with a creamy, caramel custard style plus more of those sweet spices. (J)

DEN 0070 Dumbarton 46 Year Old Bourbon
Massively and sweetly spiced early on the nose – it then softens to a truly fruity mixed bag – beyond which detect sugar and light oak. The palate is BIG, still fructiferous but carries black coffee, sweet spices and vanilla flavours – all neatly (and too swiftly) replicated on the finish. (F)

Tasting Notes for DIRECTORS CUT:

DIR 0023 Springbank 15 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Big, briny, interesting and spicy. Softens to ginger, peat, tobacco & cedar.
Palate: Still spiced, lightly oaked, salty, gristy, citric plus toffee & liquorice.
Finish: More tobacco + camphor, mocha, soft smoke + heather honey (F)

DIR 0025 Macallan 21 Year Old
Nose: Fresh & fragrant – sweet & fruity – developing to a butter plus crushed sugar style
Palate: Sweetly spiced & honey’d character carrying a barley sugar, citric quality
Finish: Medium long – still distinctly sweet – evolving to a tangy orange pith style (J)

Please note the BIG PEAT 20 cls bottles are now packed in Gift Boxes. With only 12 weeks to Christmas perhaps keep a note on your chimney about BIG PEAT @Xmas – which we hope you will consider, together with some of this month’s releases.

Yours faithfully

Fred Laing

Visit Douglas Laing & Company at www.douglaslaing.com