Douglas Laing Glen Spey Whisky Review: 'Interesting Interplay of Flavors'

In recent years, the whisky landscape has expanded rapidly. One of the big names in the whisky world is Douglas Laing, known for Timorous Beastie, Scallywag, and Big Peat. This independent label has plenty more to offer, including the Old Particular range. Today’s review is all about that. Read on for our Douglas Laing Glen Spey review.

Douglas Laing & Co is a family business that has been selecting and purchasing casks from Scotland’s most renowned distilleries since 1948. Today we’re looking at, nosing, and tasting a sample of an eighteen-year-old Glen Spey from Douglas Laing’s Old Particular series. These are single cask, single malt whiskies with an age statement that are non-chill filtered and uncoloured.

Glen Spey sits in the town of Rothes in Scotland’s Speyside region and is part of Diageo. The majority of its production goes into blends. It’s therefore uncommon to see a single malt bottling from Glen Spey on the market, which only makes us more curious about what awaits in the glass.

There isn’t much to say about the packaging or bottle today, as we used a sample for this review. There’s plenty to say about what’s in the glass, though. In the sunlight, the whisky gleams a clear golden yellow, and as it’s poured, warm, spicy aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger quickly rise. An elegant, fresh sweetness of citrus fruit follows pleasantly.

The first sip pampers the tongue and palate with fresh apple and stone fruits like peach and apricot. At the same time, the sweetness of creamy milk chocolate and cinnamon rolls emerges. The interplay of flavors, from bright and fruity to sweet and spicy, continues with subtle finesse. The palate is complex, as you’d expect from an eighteen-year-old whisky, yet remains restrained; there’s no big flavor explosion.

This eighteen-year-old Speysider asks you to take your time, peeling back each layer at an easy pace. Almost as much happens in the finish as after that first sip. The creaminess slowly gives way to a drier mouthfeel, and in the end the fruity notes lose the battle. That’s a pity, because the whisky’s greatest strength lies in its fruitiness.

Douglas Laing releases beautiful ranges and bottlings of excellent quality. This Glen Spey is a fine example. It’s flavorful and complex, with a pleasingly creamy mouthfeel. It remains a mystery how so many flavors can be packed into a single glass.

The only downside is that all those flavors are more reserved than we’d hoped. Perhaps a higher ABV would have been a good choice for this whisky. Consider this Glen Spey an introverted dram.

+       Both bright and sweet, yet full and spicy

+       Pleasant mouthfeel

+       Complex

-        Loses some fruitiness

-        More restrained than hoped