Happy Halloween, all ye boozy beasts and well-oiled witches! Today I would like to introduce you to the sixth addition of Douglas Laing’s celebrated Remarkable Regional Malts range called The Cauldrons. If you have visited our blog before, you might already have stumbled upon my interview with the company’s Marketing Manager Jenny Rogerson from last week.In the course of said exchange, the talkative Glaswegian answered a handful of questions related to this new blended malt from Campbeltown – a fabled region “once proudly proclaimed Scotlands’s whisky capital” but now considered “one of the most isolated whisky outposts in the world” with only three operating distilleries left. As was to be expected from the people that brought us fan-favorites such as Big Peat, Scallywag or Rock Oyster, The Gauldrons turned out to be one helluva Campbeltown whisky! It not only has the region’s signature set of qualities (i.e. a somewhat oily texture and a sublte smokiness that make the malt appear more massive than an elegant Speysider or a light’n’floral Lowlander), but it is also laden with a lot of legend, lore and longing. Pour yourself a glass, enjoy a sip and let The Gauldrons take you back more than 700 years in time, placing you right next to King Robert the Bruce in the dark and damp caverns of the Bay of Storms, which is the literal translation of the name of the landmark from which this whisky borrowed its name. If you ever wanted to spend the scariest night of the year dramming with the ghost of the grandest men in Scottish history, here is your chance to do so! Slainte mhath!

by Tobi

Eye: A pale-glowing fullmoon behind a thin veil of clouds.
Nose: When you enter in the dim caves on the west short of Scotland’s former whisky capital, you are greeted by the sweet scent of pancakes and treacle. Proceed further and you also get to sense mushy apricots, salty caramel, blooming clover and a whiff of citrus. If you take a deep breath, the alcohol comes through a bit, too.
Palate: On the tongue, The Gauldrons is less sweetish than in the nose. It has this thick and heavy mouthfeel you often find in a Campbeltown malt, mingling baked banana and lightly peated malt with honey-glazed fruits and shortcrust pastry. Having given us that nice of a treat, Douglas Laing do not need to worry that we come back later and egg their office.
Finish: Just like the night of All Hallow’s Eve, this wonderful malt lasts long… its strong finish is characterized by slightly bitter notes of wood, ginger and coffee.

Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Region: Scotland (Campbeltown)
Aged: NAS
Alc. volume: 46.8%
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price range: ~60.00 Euro
More info: http://www.douglaslaing.com/ (Distillery)

*** Whisky sample kindly provided by Douglas Laing & Co. ***