Each year in May there is a big market in Norderstedt’s municipal park, where you can find art, craft and regional food by retailers from Northern Germany. I really love strolling such markets on a Sunday afternoon. Not only do you find a lot of extremely delicious snacks there, but you also get the chance to support local producers and businesses – which is something I find very important. Last time I went to Norderstedt, I was particularly excited because I knew that Sandra and Thomas of Whisky Südholstein would have a stand on the market. Among others, they brought along many bottlings by Mackmyra, Scotch Universe and Douglas Laing, which you could try for very moderate prices. Since I went there by car and had to drive back home, I asked Thomas to fill a few sample bottles for me. It must have been my lucky day, because on top of the samples I was also able to bring home one of only 291 bottles of this Tamdhu 16yo from a refill hogshead. If you like a dram with an outstanding vanilla aroma in combination with fruity notes, you will love this whisky. As usual, the people at Douglas Laing chose the perfect point of time for bottling this delicious Speysider.

by Aaron

Eye: A shimmering straw-yellow with gold.
Nose: Lots of vanilla combined with sweetness, malt and green fruits.
Palate: Very sweet and creamy with a full load of vanilla. Imagine you cut some bananas, mangos and honeydew melons into pieces, season it with lots of vanilla sugar and then douse it with vanilla sauce. Maybe you could better describe it as a fruit salad marinated in vanilla sauce.
Finish: Sweet banana develops into a medium long finish with a pleasant vanilla sweetness.

Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Region: Scotland (Speyside)
Aged: 16 Years
Cask: Refill Hogshead
No. of bottles: 291
Alc. volume: 48.4%
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price range: ~100.00 Euro
More info: http://www.douglaslaing.com/ (Bottler) ; http://www.bremerspirituosencontor.de/ (Importer) ; http://www.whiskysuedholstein.de/ (Retailer)