It was a quiet Sunday late afternoon before Mumbai’s Mahindra Blues Festival. My tasting companion and I were interested in just a light taste or two before we caught the evening’s entertainment.

I thought it would be fun to try side by side a couple of Douglas Laing blends – both 18 year years, both limited edition expressions.

• Timorous Beastie 18 year Blended Malt 46.8% – We last tried a no-age statement (NAS) expression of this Highland Blend from Douglas Laing in 2016. It will be interesting to contrast that with this limited edition, previously available for ~Eur 93,
• Rock Oyster 18 year Blended Malt 46.8% – Also in 2016, we tried the NAS expression – Islands blend – Rock Oyster 57.4%, also no longer available yet previously retailed for Eur 104.

My tasting companion was skeptical – he wasn’t so impressed with the NAS options. So what did we think of the 18 year olds?

Timorous Beastie 18 year Blended Malt 46.8%

• Nose – Big! Lots of cereals with hay and barley. A sweet lemon curd, honey, settling into lemon pie with a hint of white pepper, vanilla, caramel biscuits
• Palate – Spicy, yet balances out, red macintosh applies, which then shifts into strawberries and cream
• Finish – A touch bitter
• Water – Wonderful! brought out a Tutti Fruitti sweetness with a chocolaty close

The Timorous Beastie is a limited edition malt made with Highland whiskies with the youngest 18 years.

Next up, we shifted to the Islands….

Rock Oyster 18 year Blended Malt 46.8%

• Nose – It began with a lovely lemon sherbert, joined by a saline, mineral, heavier undertones – like a heavy rye sourdough, then sweet capsicum, candied lemon rind, vanilla ice cream
• Palate – Vegitative peat, miineralic, lovely mouthfeel
• Finish – A proper finish, long and strong – like a Highland Park 18 year – sweet peat with subtle saline
• Revisit – After some time, we revisited the whisky and found it had shifted into cotton candy with a lovely minerality, having both depth and character

Douglas Laing’s Rock Oyster Island blended malt from the islands – Arran, Jura, Islay and Orkney.

These miniatures were shared by the fabulous Whisky Flu – his blog is a must-read for spirits – often going deep into the process of making malty (or other) magic!

Related blends from Douglas Laing previously sampled:

• Highland blend – Timorous Beastie 46.8%
• Lowland blend – Epicurean 46.2%
• Islands blend – Rock Oyster 57.4%
• Islay blend – Big Peat 46% 

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