You little beauty! Maple syrup, pecan, sliced peach, and vanilla-laden bread-and-butter pudding. Soft baked-apple tart, smooth sticky toffee pudding, red apples, oozing with caramels and a fine layer of spice. The mouthfeel is silky, rounded, and effortlessly elegant. Finish of walnut, clove, and marron glacé. Douglas Laing has brought out some amazing grains lately, but this is better than ever. (K&L Wines exclusive, 233 bottles

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2017)

A single cask from a refill hoggie, this bursts with vanilla fudge, cracked peppercorn, wood shavings, and apple strudel. Incredibly fruity, with mouth-watering gummy bears, tangy orange, and dried pineapple, evolving from sweet fruits through to banana chews. Diluting down from its considerable cask strength only pumps up the juiciness. To conclude, a long, creamy finish like a banana shake. Evidently, terrific cask selection at work. (K&L Wines exclusive, 246 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2017)

Deep amber. Generous sweet sherried nose; very ripe, with dried orchard fruits, chestnut puree, and indeed chestnut honey, then a little touch of meat and a pungency akin to Guyanan pot still rum. Sumptuous. As it opens there’s a fluxing mix of sticky toffee, game, pomegranate, and dried red fruits. The palate is deeply savory, with floor polish and cooked plums, finishing with fragrant pepper. The cask has a huge say in things, but the spirit copes. Excellent. £191

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2015)

Light gold. A beautiful oxidized note, with soft fruitcake, steamed pudding, a little hint of overripe fruits, and sweet spices. As it opens, there’s barley sugar sweets, then custard tart with nutmeg, clover honey, and marzipan. Complex, in other words. Water shows how well-layered it is. It starts sweetly in the mouth with a thick, honeyed texture, which becomes more delicate with water. Elegant, long, and a great example of mature ’Rothes. £80

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2015)

This is an amazing link back to Glasgow in the 1970s. Fresh peach, cherry blossom, red Tunes, baked apple, hay bales, acetone, orange peel, and old pepper grinders. A silky texture with red apple, orange oils, and a luxuriantly refined taste leads to apple peelings, caramel, and ginger. Such quality! The finish slips away quietly: melon, peach, fudge, and a final twist of pepper. Bliss! Great to see Douglas Laing bringing out more XOP single grains of such standing. (150 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2015)

Immediate rancio notes, with some hazelnut and cheese rind. Added oxidative notes of nuts moves things into Brandy de Jerez territory. Sumptuous stuff, with Miltonduff’s floral character adding a delicate top note, something which is enhanced with water. The tannins are light, allowing a silky feel to predominate, with just enough of a bitter edge to add interest. Very good indeed. £81

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2015)

Deep amber. Big, resinous, and almost heathery, with significant cask influence for a decade-old dram. The aroma is like a cobbler’s workshop: oils, leather, grease, polish, and then licorice. On the palate, there’s the prune notes of armagnac, the sweetness and cedar flavors of old rum, and very Rothes-esque spiciness. Water, just a drop, lightens it a little, allowing the underlying sweetness to show. Not cask dominated, just bottled at exactly the right moment. Recommended. £68

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2015)

The first expression in Douglas Laing’s new Old Particular Consortium of Cards Single Cask Scotch Whisky Collection was sourced from a single refill butt. The nose offers sweet peat, toffee bonbons, brine, beach tide lines, and antiseptic. Finally, a sooty chimney. The palate is zesty, with ashy peat, asphalt, chili, and citrus fruit. Dark chocolate, more soot, and extra chili in the very long finish. Quintessential Laphroaig! (665 bottles) £140

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Summer 2017)

This example of Rosebank was distilled in March 1992, a year before the distillery’s closure, and bottled in December 2013. The cask yielded 141 bottles. The nose is light and mildly floral, with ripe pears, honey, and vanilla. Firm and fruity on the surprisingly full palate, with a sprinkling of white pepper, plus summer berries and caramel. Tropical fruit, soft spices, and benign oak in the finish, with a final flourish of licorice. £400

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Summer 2014)

Big smoke. Smoked fish, in fact, with some linked oily elegance, along with touches of hot tar and a cooked agave quality, adding a slightly sour/sweet element; then come poached pear and pepper. The palate is rootier, but always with this deep, clinging texture. As it moves it sweetens briefly, then comes creosote. Water gives the sweetness more space before the big phenols come powering back. It’s a barbecue in your mouth. Classic Laphroaig, in fact. £91

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2015)

A dense, suffocating fog of peat smoke, sea salt, dry seaweed on the high tide, and lemon-scented candles. Remember to come up for air once in a while. A supple, silky texture of lemon mousse, baked apple, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and a massive rush of pepper. Hold this in your mouth for as long as possible; the flavor delivery is impressively long and constantly evolving. Hot, drying finish, and, frankly, a relief from the peppery assault on the palate. £47

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2016)

Pale gold. Lightly floral and perfumed. The impression of honey on warm buttered scones. As it opens, so this gentle complexity grows, and gives a sense of some substance. Water reveals a hint of malt, fruit syrups, and pear blossom. The palate is creamy and needs a drop of water to reveal the acid/sweet flavor of white currant, and a hint of marzipan. A classic example of a light whisky—and a distillery—which could easily be overlooked. Don’t. £74

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2015)

The final cornerstone of Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts range, this blended malt celebrates the best from the Islands. The peat smoke finds harmony with the nose of pine, lemon curd, dewy lawns, and vanilla fudge. This is gloriously full-flavored; the peatiness certainly delivers, but there is a pleasant nip of saltiness too. The black pepper finish leads to a long lasting salty smack on the lips. Make this your hipflask essential for bracing excursions along the shoreline. £38

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2015)

This Glenturret was bottled in Douglas Laing’s Old Particular series at 28 years old. After maturation in a single refill hogshead it was released in early 2016. Malt, milk chocolate, and honey on the pleasing, mature, rounded nose. Figs and sultanas develop in time. Smooth and rich on the palate with more malt, cocoa powder, and soft spices. Very long in the finish with quite insistent spice, citrus fruit, cloves, and sweet oak. (168 bottles) £105

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Summer 2016)

Full gold. Big, robust, and sweetly fragrant, with honeysuckle, stewing elderflower. There’s some oak, but it’s not dominant. The palate starts creamy, then there’s some caramel toffee with good distillery character. It melds freshness with the extra weight gained by gentle maturation. There’s coconut and cassia on the end. You lose the sweetness with water, but you get more blossom and oak. Personally I’d go for it neat and sip slowly as a perfect summer dram. £130

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2015)

Rich marmalade, gingersnaps, dried tropical fruits, vanilla pods, and cinnamon bark abound on this limited edition, top dog whisky from Douglas Laing & Co, which includes Mortlach, Macallan, and Glenrothes. The satsuma peel acidity settles quickly to show off its tricks of green apple, spices, hazelnut, Maltesers, and ginger. Late development brings out plain chocolate squares, maltiness, and intense coffee notes. Water picks out chocolate orange truffles. Coffee cups and chocolate biscuits to finish. My tail is wagging for more. (4,800 bottles) £50

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

Mid-period Garnheath here, the distillery existing for barely 20 years. This brings aromas of freshly ground pepper, oils, soft fudge, and dry monkey nut shells. The fudge is smothered by spices exploding in the mouth: ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and cinnamon. Warm toffees, oak, and citrus emerge late, but boy, this dram has great stamina and length. Sure, the finish has an oakiness, slight sourness, and a gentle, spicy pepperiness, but water subtracts more than it gains. A genuine rarity. (141 bottles) £222

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

Soft and direct. The initial impression is of birthday cake icing with marzipan beneath, then comes preserved lemon, greengage, and discreet maltiness. It becomes more scented (linden/privet blossom) in time. The palate is a little strong initially, then a hint of coconut. Improves further with water, showing a fascinating, subtle evolution: herbal with iris flowers. A classy dram from an overlooked distillery. Check it out. £53

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2015)