Scallywag

Scallywag Small Batch bottling is a vatted Speyside malt including Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes, amongst others. Created by Douglas Laing as a follow up for Big Peat.

Again, Douglas Laing has managed to create a characteristic vatting. The inside does really fit with hat's in the label: a cheeky but smooth terrier.

Scallywag manages to surprise you a lot with its rollercoaster ride. Right at the start it's giving you über-sweetness. And that's what I was actually expecting it to give, when it's coming from the makers of Big Peat. It has to be über-something, right? And being Speyside, it has to be sweet. But then it changes its course very roughly by giving you a mellow but tasty palate without the sweetness. And in the end, it gets really bitter.

Scallywag is like Eddie, the cheeky terrier from Frasier.

Nose: Sweet and yet again, sweet! Sugar frosting with ginger candy and sherry. With a drop of water, some warm spices come kicking in: cinnamon and cardamom.

Taste: After a brief moment, the sweetness goes away. Vanilla is the main character. Cinnamon dominates too. Like Big Peat, this could be in my Christmas table too. Very smooth

Finish: Very, very bitter. Oak and spices with some dark chocolate. Some sherry as well.

Balance: Smooth and pleasant but very versatile. Almost even too versatile. Nose, taste and finish are all opposite to each other. Big character as I was expecting from Douglas Laing.