Royal Lochnagar 28 Year Old 1973 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

The story for Royal Lochnagar is somewhat the same as for Brackla, with regards to my experience. I have tried two so far, but did not make any notes. Anyway, for this 28 Year Old I will gladly sit down and make some time. It was bottled in the Old Malt Cask series by Douglas Laing (the series now belongs to Hunter Laing & Co, while Fred Laing has created the Old Particular range in its stead). It is a distillate from 1973 and has been sitting in the bottle for more than a decade.

Famer butter, citrus and oak. That is the essence of this nose and a good one it is. Digging a bit deeper reveals more fruit. Peach and quince, but also Granny Smith apples. Hints of nuts. Almonds in honey. Touch of smoke with a salty edge, which is somewhat unexpected, but very nice!

Creamy on the palate as well. A nice balancing act between sweet and bitter. Sweet from honey, nuts and fruit, bitter from the oak. Nice mix of spices too: soft peppers, touch of star anise and liquorice. Again the smoky edge is there, which I really like.

Wonderfully long, bittersweet and smoky finish.

Very good and very balanced Lochnagar. Apologies: Royal Lochnagar.

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