Rock Oyster 18 year | Whisky Lady

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:

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

WordPress https://whiskylady.co/
FaceBook Whisky Lady India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN

I truly believe sharing is caring – even more so in the world of whiskies – where a dram shared is a dram enjoyed. Alas, having whisky friends scattered around the world means we do not always have an opportunity to taste together. This is why sharing a mini or two is a way to share the journey, even if experienced independently.

A couple of years ago, I brought a wee pack of minis back from Europe to India to share with Whisky Flu. His wonderfully detailed and evocative tasting notes are such a treat – enabling me to experience the drams yet again through his nose and palate.

Knowing he was through the original set, I decided it was time for a wee booster shot of interesting drams, so packed up further whiskies from one of our favourite independent bottlers – Chorlton and Gordon & Macphail Discovery. Then in India, when cleaning and sorting through my whisky cabinet, added a trio from That Boutique-y Whisky Co to the mix and the latest Chorlton’s opened with the Bombay Malt & Cigar gents.

Completely unexpectedly, I received a “return gift” with an interesting assortment from his open bottles:

Blend #4 51% – Must find out more about this one!
Grace O’Malley Irish Whisky 40% – So far I’ve only had a whiff of this one, so looking forward to trying
Camikara 12 year Rum 50% – A new Indian cane juice rum, matured for 12 years in American oak casks.
Timorous Beastie 18 year Blended Malt 46.8% – We last tried a no-age statement expression of this Highland Blend from Douglas Laing in 2016. It will be interesting to contrast that with this limited edition.
Rock Oyster 18 year Blended Malt 46.8% – For this Island expression, we last tried their cask-strength version in 2018. As a blend of Islay, Arran, Orkney, and Jura whiskies, I have a feeling I will enjoy the 18 year!
Indri 46% – I need to check if this is the standard Trini or something different!

For a variety of reasons, this trip to India left little scope for independent tasting. So I decided to keep these well stored for my upcoming trip in April or May 2024.

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on: