Whisky : Garnheath 44 Year; Douglas Laing’s Old Particular (K&L Wine Merchant Cask Selection)

Country/Region : Scotland/Lowland (Single Grain)

ABV : 49.8%

Cask : Refill Barrel (Cask DL12557)

Age : 44 Years (Distilled Feb. 1974, Bottled Aug. 2018)

Nose :  Sweet pastries— toasted whole wheat bread and cinnamon rolls covered in cream cheese frosting.  Floral vanilla, fresh berries, and sweet rice cake.  Tease of creamy custard and creme brûlée pop up every so often along with rich wood spice.

Palate : Medium bodied with cream, custard, and malty rich ginger pastries.  There is some heat, but a few drops of water knocks it down and smooths out slightly bitter menthol notes. Faint perfumed vanilla, cupcakes, and broken creme anglaise near the end.   

Finish :  Medium length vanilla and slightly bitter tea or medicinal note.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Custard Flavored Toothpaste

Something Better : Port Dundas 28Y, Douglas Laing K&L (thicker body, more berries/honey/spice)

Something Similar : Carsebridge 44Y, Hunter Laing (similar perfumed vanilla/toasty bread, more spice)

Notes :  Another old grain, another ghost distillery— last time I had this same combination it was also a Douglas Laing Old Particular bottling for K&L.  That Port Dundas 28 Year was the first old grain to really grab me and get me curious about the category.  While this Garnheath has the cool factor of being a fair number of years old than I, I preferred the flavor profile on the Port Dundas— enough that I would have bought a bottle if I had had the chance.

This was not bad, but each time I drank it I got a different set of very odd notes.  The one that seemed to come back the most often was a bitter herbal mint note.  The same note appeared on the finish like a cold bitter tea— or children’s Tylenol.  There was enough creamy desert and spice that the dram remained enjoyable to sip on, but that bitterness was a distraction I fixated on.

I do love the romance of having a whisky older than myself— distilled before I was born and in the cask longer than I have been alive.  I also think ghost distillery bottles are fun as the inherently ephemeral nature of scotch is that much more heightened.  So, while I do think there are better single grain scotch— and I did enjoy the Port Dundas that Douglas Laing have done for K&L more— this would still be a cool bottle to have.