Speyside 18 Year Old 1996 Douglas Laing Old Particular

This release in the Old Particular series from Douglas Laing is not a Speysider in disguise, but actually a single malt from the Speyside Distillery. It matured for 18 years on a refill butt, but judging by the color, it was quite an active cask.

Dark and sweet nose, very creamy, offering caramel, chocolate, blackberries and baked apples. A touch of leather and cooked plums. Hint of rhubarb. This is quite lovely.

The body may be somewhat light, but the taste is just fine. Plums again, caramel and apples, but with a lovely sweet and sour touch like from gooseberries. A bit spicy on nutmeg and liquorice. Cocoa kicks in with a vengeance. Rum raisins and blackberries. An autumn malt, if you ask me.

The finish is medium long on cocoa and plum marmalade.

I tried this before, blind, at the Proefolympics (Dutch tasting competition) 2017. At that time, I jotted down ‘Aberlour’. Go figure.

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