Old Particular Tweet Tasting

Glasgow-based Douglas Laing & Co are independent Scotch Whisky bottlers and blenders. Founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, which in turn was passed down to his sons Stewart and Fred until May 2013 when the two brothers decided to split the family-owned company in two, after reaching an amicable agreement that secures the business for the next generation. The pair are now at the helm of two separate businesses that feature key roles for their respective children. 

Douglas Laing & Co has continued with with Fred Laing at the helm, and he has been joined by his daughter Cara as head of brands marketing.

Cara has brought considerable industry experience to the role, having moved from Morrison Bowmore Distillers, where she led the Bowmore and Glen Garioch brands as marketing manager. She is also a former global brand manager for the Isle of Jura single malt and has worked previously with both Dalmore and Whyte & Mackay.

This tweet tasting coincided with the launch of Douglas Laing & Co Ltd's new flag ship range 'Old Particular', a series of selected single cask bottlings and five blind samples arrived in good time at Whisky Discovery HQ for the tweet tasting with Steve Rush of @TheWhiskyWire and Cara Laing from @DLaingWhisky

All set to go at Whisky Discovery HQ

The bottles were simply numbered one to five, no other information was given and all five were tasted blind and only revealed at the end of each tasting. Whilst we all tried guessing the distillery I don't think their were many 'Gold Stars' awarded for our whisky tasting prowess, although I did get the last one right on first nosing. Right from the start a new Whisky Discovery was recorded in the Liquid Log.

Whisky Discovery #524

Old Particular Auchentoshan 15 Year Old (48.4% abv)

Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Price TBC

Auchentoshan was one of only three remaining Lowland malt whisky distilleries, however recent openings and re-openings have increased that count to six now (Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie, Bladnoch, Daftmill, Annandale and Ailsa Bay) Founded in 1800 and located just on the outskirts of Glasgow, Auchentoshan is probably the most accessible Lowland distillery, being just a short taxi ride away from the city centre. Interestingly, Auchentoshan triple distills it's spirit which is said to give a lighter, more delicate and sweeter flavoured malt whisky.

This 15 Year Old 'Old Particular' Auchentoshan was distilled in October 1997, matured in a refill hogshead, and yielded 336 Bottles when bottled in August 2003

So What Did I Think?

The nose comes across as grassy initially with sweet floral notes before the vanilla starts to take over. Malty fruit follows, with apples, pears and the small of fresh Victoria plums (which came to mind as I had just been picking them from the garden) There's a leafy herbal element too, which I noted as Elderberry leaves while underneath the fruit there's a slate like note

The palate comes across much sweeter and more delicate than the nose was suggesting. A little less interesting too. Opening light and sweet you are met with a citrus zest and pepper 'zing' with a sherbet feel with a trace of cinnamon spice. The mouth feel turns creamy towards then end and finishes dry with a touch of salt. 

Verdict: I had an inkling that this one was Auchentoshan but didn't 'tweet up' at the time. This has an interesting nose but not meeting my expectations on the palate, perhaps too light and delicate for me? I've not tried many Auchentoshans in my journey to date although do like their Three Wood.

So what did the others think?
@cowfish: First dram has a nose with grass and leafiness, as well as spice and sweetness. Seems to be changing a lot
@LaCaveDeCobalt: First nose is a bit estery with green apple and pear notes. Also, something sweet like cotton candy.

@jalcock1982: Nose: vanilla, apple, grassy, very sweet, toffee, pear drop, boiled sweets. mouth watering

@MasterOfMaltJM: Nose: Apple, vanilla, touch of honeycomb and maltiness. Dried papaya. Wet rock/shell.

@steveprentice: On the palate this is much smoother than I expected, creamy, rich, malty, slight coastal notes and apples.

@andrew1bardsley: Warm in the mouth, with a mellow spice to it. Less fruit than I was expecting. Classic American oak flavours

@sjoerd972: Taste: not too sharp, some vanilla, grass, lemon oil, granny smith, simple syrup, white tea.

Whisky Discovery #525

Old Particular Caperdonich 18 Year Old (48.4% abv)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

circa £76.00 70cl

The Caperdonich Distillery is one of our 'lost' distilleries. Although founded in 1898 it had a very short life before being resurrected in 1965 and ran until 2002 and later demolished in 2010. I've only ever tasted one Caperdonich before

This 18 Year Old 'Old Particular' Caperdonich was distilled in June 1995, matured in a refill hogshead, yielding 312 bottles when bottled in August 2013 

So What Did I Think?

A gentle delicate nose that needed teasing out. Spicy initially with a little menthol too. There's a hazelnut nuttiness before some softer fruit notes develop with waxy apples, but dry with soda water and a chalky note. The nose was much more restrained than the first dram of the evening and to be honest, was not doing a great deal for me so wanted to move on quickly to taste it

As a complete contrast to the Auchentoshan, the palate was much more interesting than the nose. Sweet, rich and malty with sultanas, vanilla cream and a dab of sherbet. There's a grapefruit pith note towards the end along with some gentle aniseed spice

Verdict: I didn't have a clue before the reveal, although I was beginning to think Speyside. While the nose was perhaps a little to delicate for me to appreciate fully in the time we had during the twitter tasting, the palate more than made up for it and I really enjoyed this super smooth 'Speysider'.

So what did the others think?

@MaltReview: Nose: More muted than the first. Much more a kind of heady wood and cream cheese aroma. Understated, yet subtle.

@MCRWhiskyClub: Nose Light, vanilla, lemon curd and then a rather sour note, coming back round to baked apples glazed with honey.

@PWulf: Very faint smell of an old leather boot? Swampy cellar

@MasterOfMaltJM: Palate: It's those slices of apple that are drying out (very specific!) that I had on the nose for me, only more so now!

@TheWhiskyWire: Is there such a thing as peach sherbet? If not I've just discovered it.

@LaCaveDeCobalt: Oily and creamy on the palate with salty/sugary notes. Very warming. Much more my kind of dram.

@rodbodtoo: The palate is malty and rounded. A wee bitty hot in the finish. Also getting fruity.

Whisky Discovery #526

Old Particular Glen Ord 16 Year Old (48.4% abv)

Highland Single Malt Whisky

Price TBC

I've not come across anything from the Glen Ord Distillery in my journey to date. Yes, I've heard of the distillery, but the only expression that I could think of was the 'Singleton of Glen Ord. I had to Google the distillery initially to find out where it is located (the Black Isle, Ross-shire) although later returned to my trusty copy of The Malt Whisky Yearbook for more details.

The Glen Ord Distillery is owned by Diageo and the majority of the Whisky made is used in the Singleton of Glen Ord range which is an exclusive to South East Asia although the 12 Year Old can be found in their visitor centre.

This 16 Year Old 'Old Particular' Glen Ord was distilled in April 1997, matured in a refill hogshead, yielding 396 bottles when bottled in August 2013

So What Did I Think?

Opening with malty berry fruits, there's a certain oiliness to the nose of this one. Not a heavy oily note, more of a light olive oil note. An earthy chars lies under with a touch of brine too.

The palate is rich, creamy, and very tasty with blackberries, a leafy herbal note that reminded me of brambles, white pepper and lemon zest, finishing with a little charcoal char and a maritime edge.

Verdict: I was impressed with the Glen Ord, and this quickly became my favourite of the evening so far. My stab at guess for the distillery was way off! this rime, and for the record I tweeted Glen Scotia, well I got half the name correct!

So what did the others think?
@MaltReview: Wow, radically different. Lighter, fresher, but still intense. Massive Jarlsberg cheese note there. Lively as hell.
@kristy_kristy: Nose: dark chocolate, creamy, quite savoury... Now cheese has been mentioned I can smell it.
@andrew1bardsley: Young...green bananas. Little less sweet but still a lovely nose.
@jalcock1982: Nose: strong cheese, meaty, difficult to get past at first, shortbread, creamy, vanilla, I like it.
@WorldWhiskyDay: I'm really enjoying this. Beaches, waves, honey, chimney smoke, sea spray! Superb!
@RLemkin: Initial mouthfull had me wondering what it'd be like to try to eat a forest floor.
@sjoerd972: Finish: oak, all of a sudden. Green fruit, bitter at that. gin-like, and engine grease.

Whisky Discovery #527

Old Particular Glen Scotia 21 Year Old (51.5% abv)

Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky

circa £85.00 70cl

Glen Scotia, another distillery I have had little experience of with only one Whisky Discovery recorded on the Liquid Log. Glen Scotia from Campbeltown, the Victorian Whisky capital of the world, is one of the three remaining distilleries from this region.

This 21 Year Old 'Old Particular' Glen Scotia 21 was distilled in May 1992 and matured in a refill barrel, yielding just 240 bottles when bottled in August 2013

So What Did I Think?

With the smells of sweet polished wood and barley husks initially on the nose this turns more earthy with a used Swan Vestas matchbox note to it too (like smelling the strike pad of the box). Fruit appears with dark sweet cherries.

The palate is sweet and earthy, oily peat smoke turning the sweet cherry a little sour, wit h a touch of brine too.

Verdict: I really loved this one and it became my new favourite of the evening. I was beginning to this that this was an old Glen Garioch, but again only got half the name correct. This is a superb Glen Scotia would love to have a bottle of this on the shelf.

So what did the others think?
@steveprentice: Gosh, this one's a slippery changing little one, had an Auchy Valinch nose at first, all gone now and creamy / fruity

@MCRWhiskyClub: Some sort of peppery steak sauce, this is an altogether different beast, very deep, meaty.
@rickfurzer: Nose opening into brazil nut toffee.
@TheWhiskyWire: A whole wealth of sweet & savoury evolving wonders. This dram just will not stand still on the nose.
@cowfish: Touch of the forest floor rancio to this one - damp earth, bark and leaves.
@rickfurzer: Palate: a lot of cocoa on the palate here and back on the Nose.
@MasterOfMaltJM: Palate: Viscous and seriously lip smacking with cigars.

Whisky Discovery #528

Old Particular Bowmore 25 Year Old (50.2% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky
Price TBC

From Islay's oldest distillery this 25 Year Old 'Old Particular' Bowmore was distilled in December 1987, matured in a refill hogshead, yielding 234 bottles when bottled in August 2013

So What Did I Think?

The instant I nosed this I was convinced I had an old Bowmore. The nose opens with sweet driftwood beach bonfire smoke and the smell of parma violets

The palate opens with a huge hit of sweet parma violets, much more floral than I was expecting. Once you get over the sweet perfumed notes the driftwood smoke returns, finishing with the gentlest of peat reek and the dying embers of that beach fire with burnt sand and sea salt.

Verdict: Whilst the sweet scented nose initially drew me in there was just a touch too much parma violets on the palate for me. I really thought that this was going to be my favourite of the evening it probably slipped back into second or third with the Glen Scotia in front and Glen Ord just pipping this Bowmore.

So what did the others think?
@steveprentice: Peat! Whoop. I suspect this is old, really old, and probably expensive. And not from Islay?! Humm, must ponder that.

@kristy_kristy: Nose: lightly peated strawberries and cream.
@sjoerd972: Oak leaf lettuce, lavender, some peat, cream and barley, chalk, parma violets. I like.
@jalcock1982: Nose: rum, raisin, smoke, coastal, salt, oily, sherry, faint sulphur, tempting me in.
@PWulf: There is floral fight in my nose: In the right corner heather and and in the left the champ violet.
@cowfish: It's hard to get past the big floral hit on the nose. If you're sensitive to it then it's a bit overpowering. And I am...
@rodbodtoo: Palate is sweet and salty, with quite an oily texture. Lovely
@MaltReview: It's almost a classically well-balanced peated whisky, but just turned up a notch. A charred wood influence here
@SimplzW: Wowzers, Packs a real punch! Salted caramel ice cream, with extra salt, lovely 

And finally.... 

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #OldParticular hashtag on twitter for the full story. Being new single cask releases the were five Whisky Discoveries to record on the Liquid Log as well as a new distillery to log 

A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire and Cara Laing from @DLaingWhisky for sending out all of the samples to us and of course the tweet tasters who were: 

@The WhiskyWire @MasterOfMalt @WorldWhiskyDay @PMaitlando @robertcjackson @jalcock1982 @WhiskyDiscovery @SmokieChops @kristy_kristy @Grahamyus @kizzsmyth @MaltReview @MCRWhiskyClub @rodbodtoo @SimplzW @janmccurdy @andrew1bardsley @steveprentice @cowfish @rickfurzer @andotron @LaCaveDeCobalt @sjoerd972 @JayDieNL @PWulf @fr1day 

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and www.douglaslaing.com

Whisky Discovery #307

Auchentoshan 27 Year Old Master of Malt (58% abv D:11/12/84)
Lowland Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
£99.95 70cl (only available from Master of Malt)

This twenty seven year old Auchentoshan comes from Master of Malts Single Cask Series, and was distilled on the 11th December 1984. It was aged for 27 years in a bourbon barrel and bottled on the 20th November 2012. 

The aroma of this venerable Lowland single malt whisky is particularly intense, and leads to a complex flavour profile with a stupendously long finish

There are just 209 bottles available.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Parma violets, greengages and black currant jelly form an aroma dominated by heady top-notes. Beneath this there are light floral notes and a little ground white pepper.

Palate: This is a light bodied whisky with clean notes of parma violets, lavender and carnations forming up on the palate. The texture is mouth-coating with a slight syrupy quality.

Finish: The finish is elegant and floral with notes of rose water and rose flavoured meringues. On the tail there is a little dried banana which clings on for a long time after the last phenomenal sip.

Overall: All the complexity and depth befitting its age but with a distinctly unique character. A glass of this punchy single malt will go a long way, leave it to sit for an hour or so to appreciate its delicate side.

So What Did We Think?

I found that this needed some time in the glass to develop it's nose. It's dry and dusty at first reminding me of the chalky smell of the old blackboard wiper at school. After a little time it does get very floral, heavily perfumed for a while before settling down to some creamy vanilla with a citrus edge notes, and some sweetshop Parma Violets (I had to go and buy some just to be sure). It really does benefit from airing, but then it has been sleeping for twenty seven years, so wakes up very slowly indeed.

Again the palate is very floral, perhaps a little too much for my liking. It doesn't appear to be gentle in it's approach to giving you it's perfume and brought back memories of 'nice perfume, but must you marinate in it?' one of the put-down sayings we had listed at work that we used to check off as we insulted someone.

Once you get over the perfume attack again it settles down, there was a blueberry taste to it, as in a blueberry muffin, which seems to be very similar to the Parma Violet sweets. This Auchentoshan definitely benefits a few drops of water.

The finish does seem to go on forever, it's a little bit chalky and that blueberry sweetness. I'm sure I woke up the following morning still tasting those Parma Violets/blueberry notes.

Want one? Best be quick as there was just 209 bottles filled. check out Master of Malt 27 Year Old Auchentoshan

Whisky Discovery #179

Auchentoshan Springwood NAS (40% abv OB, 2012, 1l)
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
Travel Retail Release, Circa £35.00 1 litre

The Travel Retail only Springwood

The British Airport shops have been running a deal most of this year, offering two bottles of a limited range of whiskies for just £55.00. I picked up a couple of bottles on may way back from Mexico (that I've not opened yet) and a further pair of bottles on a recent business trip to France. This Auchentoshan was one of them.

Auchentoshan released a new range of no age statement whiskies earlier this year, the Springwood is the entry level bottling, and youngest of the range. It's been triple matured as with all Auchentoshan whiskies and then matured solely in North American Bourbon oak casks, bottled at 40% abv.

So what did I think?

It has a light golden colour, which has unfortunately been modified with the addition of caramel. On the nose it comes across as quite young, with lots of sharp citrus fruits; lime, grapefruit and lemon, there are grassy notes, and even some Vietnamese coriander. The vanilla notes you would expect from the Bourbon casks, eventually breaks out the sharp astringent notes.

On the palate its light fresh and delicate, there is a light sweetness to the vanilla notes, yet there is a grapefruit sourness that cuts through it, I guess it's what would be expected of a young classical Lowland single malt.

There is a drying nuttiness to the finish, with light pepper spice and citrus notes which all fades quite quickly

While not overly complex it is very drinkable whisky. It is quite young and there is that 'new make' feel to it. The addition of caramel is probably necessary to give it some colour, as I doubt there would be much from the casks considering it's assumed young age. It benefits from sitting in the glass for a while, which I didn't expect for such a young spirit, but being fresh and zesty would be perfect for sunny summer afternoons, however will have to wait until 2013 till I see one of those again. However, when you can pick up two litres for £55 it offers great value for money!

Whisky Discovery #88

Auchentoshan Valinch NAS (57.5% abv 2011)
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
Circa £38.00 70cl

The cask strength Valinch

This was another Auchentoshan that had been recommended to me by The Toshan Man, and was dram No.19 of the afternoon at the Whisky Lounge London

This small batch release is the cask strength edition of their 'Classic' and is bottled at 57.5% abv and is not chill-filtered.

The expression is named 'Valinch' after the name of the pipette used to draw whisky straight from the cask (also known as 'the whisky thief') which is an appropriate name for a whisky with all the depth of taste, flavour and texture associated with sampling whisky at source.

The Valinch has no age statement, which probably means it's a young whisky, but I have no confirmation of the make up so far. This was the first whisky created by Jeremy Stephens, Senior Blender of the Morrison-Bowmore group.

So What did I think?

With the colour of pale straw and the nose bursting with sweet vanilla and citrus, it really quite sweet and creamy in the mouth despite the high abv.

 I was expecting this to be quite exciting and I wasn't disappointed. I added a little water to the first dram as advised my the guys behind the stand, but went back for an immediate second dram and spent a little longer with it and really enjoyed it at full strength. This will be staying on my wishlist, I want more of this!

Whisky Discovery #87

Auchentoshan 12 Year Old (40% abv)
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
Circa £27.00 70cl

Auchentoshan 12 Year Old

Next up was a stand that contained a number of different whiskies and three expressions from the Auchentoshan distillery were on display. Their 12 Year Old, Three Wood and Valinch.

I was only recently introduced to Auchentoshan recently and on the recommendation from the Toshan Man himself, bought a bottle of their Three Wood as my official January 2012 bottle, but was keen to try some other expressions.

So for my 16th dram of The Whisky Lounge London Show I tried their 12 year old for the very first time.

This expression was first released around 2008 and the 12 year old replaced their 10 year old during a re-branding exercise. At the time it was hailed as a big improvement on the reportedly lacklustre younger expression.

As with all Auchentoshan whiskies this malt has been triple distilled before maturing in a mixture Bourbon and Sherry casks making it rich, spicy and with a sherry influence.

So What did I think?

On the nose it was initially quite sweet with caramel and some honey, rich fruit and nut flavours with a hint of spice. Not as sweet on the palate, but smooth with hints of tangy orange and vanilla. 

Although it was a pleasant enough dram I wasn't overawed by it. I really love the Three Wood and was looking forward to trying more Auchentoshan, so perhaps might have expected more?  It might have been due to the number of different drams tasted prior to this or even the new make spirit that I had tried on the Balvenie stand previously, but it didn't grab me.. At the next Whisky Show I will start with Auchentoshan to give it another go!

Whisky Discovery #35

Auchentoshan Three Wood NAS (43%, OB, bottled  2011, 70cl)

Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Circa £35

My first Toshan

My first Auchentoshan, but not my first Lowland whisky as I've previously sampled Edinburgh’s Glenkinchie 12 Year Old at the beginning of my journey (Whisky Discovery #3).

This is January 2012’s official addition, and recommended by the Toshan Man himself, Mark Dermul (http://www.markdermul.be/toshanman/) who I have become acquainted with on The Whisky Social Network ‘Whisky Connosr’ (http://www.connosr.com/).

I was going to go for the Classic as listed in Ian Buxton’s book, but Mark steered me this way. I’m really pleased with his recommendation, but will be back for the Classic (and more) later !

Auchentoshan (ock-un-tosh-un) is, as I said earlier, a Lowland whisky and the distillery is located to the North West of Glasgow in Clydebank. With no age statement on this expression I wrote to Auchentoshan and asked what age whisky this was. They replied that this was a 12 year old whisky, matured for 10 years in bourbon casks then finished for one year in Oloroso Sherry and then one year in Pedro Ximenez Sherry.

Auchentoshan’s clean, complex character starts with malted optic barley. Only gently kilned, completely un-peated barley lets the Auchentoshan taste shine through. They grind the barley to suit their lauter tun. It’s vital to have evenly milled starch grits – this maximises the amount of starch that converts into sugars during mashing. The milled, malted barley and pure water is fed into their lauter tun, first of all at 63.5°C. The heat helps turn the starches into sugar. After two fillings it’s ready for fermentation – the third filling is used as the first water in the next mash.

Many distilleries prefer the consistency that comes with stainless steel washbacks, however, Auchentoshan use Oregon pine instead – so the results are always a little different each time, this also means that an especially keen eye on everything is needed. All this effort means a fresh-tasting, clear wort from the lauter tun.

Auchentoshan is the only distillery in Scotland to have a third still, truly triple distilling every single drop. Triple Distillation takes the fermented liquid from around 8% ABV (alcohol by volume) up to 81%. No other Scottish distillery insists on this for every drop – double distillation usually reaches just 70% ABV. Auchentoshan new spirit is the highest distillate of any single malt distillery in Scotland. They say that when you taste the new spirit, strong notes of fruit and citrus are revealed because they have distilled away all the impurities in the liquid. You can read much more about it on their superb website http://www.auchentoshan.com/triple-distillation-(our-way)/triple-distillation.aspx

So why triple distillation ? It’s more time consuming. It’s more expensive, and it’s also absolutely unique in Scotland – no other Single Malt Scotch Whisky goes beyond two distillations (unless of course you know otherwise!) The extra distillation takes the spirit to around 81% – not 70%. This dramatically affects the character of the new make spirit, helping to create a subtle whisky that matures beautifully in oak.

So what did I think ?

Colour: A rich and deep amber from the Sherry, although reading the very small print on the bottom of the box I think this has been stabilised with caramel (it’s in German hidden under the bar code - but Google translate got me through it)

Body:              Oily, rich, and smooth, legs slow to drain in my Glencairn

Nose:              Just Delicious ! Rich and sweet, fruity, raisins, brown sugar, caramel toffee, slight butterscotch, even a slight marmalade scent

Palatte:           Delicious ! Mellow and smooth almost creamy, the sherry comes across strong, but there is more underneath, the vanilla and oak coming through the sweet fruits

Finish:             Delicious ! The finish is warming and very long, fresh and fruity. I always enjoy nosing my empty glass again after a minute or two, and this one is no exception, the final pleasure of whisky tasting, and was surprised getting some lavender at the very end.

Overall verdict: Loved it – A great discovery !

Mark has recommended I try the Valinch next – it’s on my wish list already !