Douglas Laing ‘The Clan Denny’ Girvan 1993 (20 year old) 56.7%
Bourbon/ Code: DEN0123/ Dist: Dec 1993 Btl: Sept 2014/ Tasted: Oct 2014
The nose is quite oily with elegant Gyanan-esque dried fruit and subtle oak vanillins. Fresh and grainy with some creamy spirit notes.
The palate displays a greater degree of oak along with heavy honey and grainy spirit notes. A touch of dried fruit comes through with building pepper and toffee on the middle. Lovely length with the oily dried fruit returning and a lingering, light tequila-esque pulped white fruit after-taste. It’s probably not the most complex of grain whiskies that I’ve tasted but it delivers rather well.
Douglas Laing ‘The Clan Denny’ Girvan 1992 (21 year old) 59.6%
Bourbon/ Code: DEN0100/ Dist: Feb 1992 Btl: Mar 2013/ Tasted: Apr 2013
The nose is high toned and a little spirit, like young-ish Girvan can be. Soft vanilla is interwoven with the lightly botanical neutral spirit notes. With time a little, light dried fruit appears along with some light smoke and sweet spices.
Full-ish and vanilla’d on the palate with sweet caramel, fudge and gentle herbal spirit notes. Very intensely alcoholic on the middle with those herbal notes increasing in intensity. Good length with a sweet, sugar coated vanilla finish.
With water the nose becomes simpler and it is reminiscent of an oak aged vodka. However some lovely cinnamon spice and gun flint notes have now emerged. The palate is a touch sweeter with some corn-like note. Again simpler but the drier spices are sublime.
Douglas Laing Clan Denny Girvan 1965 (46 year old) 49.7%
Bourbon/ Code: DEN0079/ Dist: June 1965 Btl: Nov 2011/ Tasted: Nov 2011
A lovely, sweet-ish nose – Muscavado sugar coated grain! Yum! The nose becomes crisper as the grain bites and forces the oak into the background. Seriously grainy now but some gorgeous rum like dried fruit has become to emerge. Stunningly complex.
Again the palate is quite sweet to begin with but the edgy grains balance that out rather well. Hints of honey glazed smoked meat and juicy dried fruit appears, but the grain and piquant alcohol keep the sweetness in check until the very end when some lovely, creamy coffee’d vanilla is let loose. Still it has a very mouth-watering finish and a lovely honeyed spice finish.
Douglas Laing Old Particular Girvan 1997 (20 year old) 51.5%
Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0536/ DL12191
Dist: Dec 1989 Btl: Nov 2017/ Tasted: Jan 2018
The nose is quite perfumed with toasty oak and high toned, nutty dried fruit. The oak really comes through strongly and becomes quite dominant, but it’s pleasantly vanilla’d and Bourbony.
Again the palate shows a lot of oak character – toast, caramel, toffee and peanut. Hints of lightly dried fruit on the middle but the oak is dominating. Long and toasty with subtle citric note.
Douglas Laing Old Particular Girvan 1994 (21 year old) 51.5%
Refill Barrel/ Code: OLD0270/ Dist: May 1994 Btl: Nov 2015/ Tasted: Dec 2015
A gorgeous nose of gently peppery spice and edgy dried fruit along with chunky but supportive oak. Hints of fleshy fruit, lemon, vanilla and marzipan appear but the edgy grain notes are still quite prominent.
The palate shows a little more oak and thus feels fuller with lightly treacly coated dried fruit and hints of peppery spice and herbs. Superb depth with developing apricot and tangerine on the middle. Long with a lovely crisp and herbal finish.
Douglas Laing Old Particular Girvan 1989 (25 year old) 51.5%
Bourbon/ Code: OLD0218/ Dist: Dec 1989 Btl: July 2015/ Tasted: Aug 2015
Intense and very grainy aromas of coffee infused honey and gritty tannins. The aromas are quite dark and almost malty in character with hints of treacle, marzipan, oily dried fruit and earth.
The palate is a little lighter and opens with a lovely intensity of rummy dried fruit. Just a hint of coffee comes through along with a subtle herbalness. The oils kick in pleasantly on the middle and the oak begins to show. Lovely finish with the citrus going head to head with the oils. Herbal, dried fruit after-taste.
Douglas Laing Old Particular Girvan 1990 (25 year old) 51.5%
Code: OLD0238/ Dist: Mar 1990 Btl: Sept 2015/ Tasted: Oct 2015
A wonderfully mature and woody nose with plenty of crisp, high toned, classic Girvan grain and sultana. The luscious, sweet, coconuty, creamy oak comes through quite powerfully. Lightly herbal with a slight earthiness and demerera sugar. With time the coconut really intensifies!
The palate opens with the luscious coconut oak and dried apricot , sultana and citrus. Lovely intensity and crispness with layers of dried fruit. Long and succulent with lingering astringent herbal spice, demerera sugar and coconut.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 