Hey There! Welcome back to another review. Today we are checking out a Blended Malt Scotch Whisky. But first, do you correctly know what a blended malt is? Blended malts are made of different single malts from different distilleries. There is no grain involved in here. (Blended Malts are not to be confused with Blended Scotches.) In this case this bottle consists of several single malts from all around the Lowlands. 

I bought this bottle in a promotion for a very low price! I only payed 43 EUROS for it. Considering that it is a naturally presented whisky (non-chill filtered, natural color and in this case cask strength) it is an amazing price. On top, it has a wine finish. It is finished in Cuvée casks. We could almost say that a Cuvée is the equivalent of a Blended Malt in the wine industry since it is a blend of different grape varieties. So to say it is a Blended Malt finished in a Blended Wine cask. Sounds nice innit? Let's get into it.

I already reviewed the Rock Island Blended Malt Sherry Edition from Douglas Laing & Co, make sure to check it out by clicking HERE.

A little bit about Douglas Laing & Co

Douglas Laing & Co is an independent bottler of Scotch whisky. Based in Glasgow, Scotland and established in 1948, the company has a number of brands including its "Remarkable Regional Malts" range, encompassing The Epicurean, Timorous Beastie, Scallywag, Rock Island and Big Peat, as well as Old Particular, Provenance and Xtra Old Particular, which they collectively call their "Exceptional Single Casks". The firm also creates and sells King of Scots Blended Scotch Whisky, Clan Denny Single Casks and Premier Barrel. They also own a distillery that is new called the Strathearn Distillery.

• The Epicurean: First released in 2016, The Epicurean is Douglas Laing's Lowland blended malt. Bottled at 46% with packaging featuring a character said to be the "1930s cheeky chappy from Glasgow".
• Timorous Beastie: Timorous Beastie is a Highland Blended Malt, featuring a mouse on the packaging in homage to Robert Burns' famous Scots poem, To a Mouse. A blend of Highland single malts, Timorous Beastie combines spirit from Glen Garioch, Glengoyne and Blair Athol Distilleries and is bottled at 46.8%. Since its launch in 2014, Douglas Laing has released a series of aged Timorous Beastie bottlings, including Timorous Beastie 40 Years Old.
• Scallywag: Launched in 2013, Scallywag is a blend of Speyside single malts, predominantly matured in Sherry butts and bottled at 46%. The packaging features a Fox Terrier in honour of the Douglas Laing family's long line of pets. Douglas Laing has also released some limited edition Scallywag products, including cask strength bottlings.
• Rock Island: Rock Island is an island blended malt scotch whisky, combining single malts distilled on Islay, Arran, Jura and Orkney. Formerly known as Rock Oyster.

• Big Peat: Combining only Islay Malt Whisky from the Ardbeg, Port Ellen, Bowmore and the Caol Ila distilleries, Douglas Laing's Big Peat Small Batch Islay blended malt whisky or vatted malt is bottled at 46% alcohol strength. Big Peat has received plaudits worldwide including an award for Scottish Vatted Malt of the Year in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible and Blended Scotch Malt of the Year at the World Whiskies Awards 2010. A festive themed Big Peat limited edition bottling is released annually at cask strength for extra warmth during the cold winter months.

Strathearn distillery

The distillery commenced production in 2013 under the ownership of Tony Reeman-Clark, David Land and David Wight. Initially the distillery produced gin and the first whisky was distilled in October 2013.

In 2019, the distillery was acquired by the Glasgow company Douglas Laing & Co.

Strathearn Distillery is probably Scotland's smallest distillery. They not only produce Single Malt Whisky but also a range of spirits including hand-crafted, artisan single cask by using traditional methods and ideas.

They just released the Strathearn - Inaugural Bottling which is a NAS single malt whisky matured in Ex-Bourbon, Virgin Oak and Oloroso Sherry casks.

The Epicurean Glasgow Edition #2 Cuvée Finish - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 50.4%

"Meet The Epicurean – our 1930s Glasgow man, a real cheeky character who was ever the life and soul of the party and a connoisseur of fine food and drink. A master of versatility, this fresh, zesty, grassy marriage of the finest Lowland malts is perfect for cocktail hour or simply for sipping. Part of the Remarkable Regional Malts range, the ultimate distillation of Scotland's Malt Whisky Regions. 

The Epicurean "Glasgow Edition" is a spectacular marriage of the finest Single Malts from the Scottish Lowlands. This remarkable bottling pays tribute to the extraordinary city The Epicurean calls home and encapsulates the ever-friendly, vibrant and energetic spirit of Glasgow in a dram."

I would love to know the single malts that went into this bottle. The Lowlands doesn't have so many active distilleries but I think it is still hard to speculate about the content.

The current ACTIVE distilleries on the Lowlands

• Ailsa Bay
• Annandale
• Auchentoshan
• Bladnoch
• Borders
• Clydeside
• Daftmill
• Eden Mill
• Glasgow
• Glenkinchie
• Kingsbarns
• Lindores Abbey
• Lochlea

If someone asked me to guess what I think, which single malts are in this bottle, I would say Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie and Clydeside perhaps. It is really hard to guess it tho.

Nose: Very malty right away. Lots of vanilla and toffee. Was it partly aged in FF Bourbon casks? Orchard fruits such as green apples, ripe pears and apricots. Citrus fruits. French toast with butter. Very fresh, very inviting. White grapes and oak. Great nose.

Taste: Hefty, oily. The 50.4% is very well integrated, it doesn't sting or burn at all. Fresh green apples, pears and apricots again. Maltiness and vanilla. Lemon zest. Grated coconut and toasted oak. White grapes, butter and espresso. Mouthfeel is great. Not an overly complex drink, but a good and enjoyable one.

Finish: Long finish, with malted barley, vanilla and toasted oak. It's sweet but gets dry by the end. It stays in the mouth for a few minutes, you don't feel the urge to drink drink and drink., It can be savored at a nice and slow pace.

Overall I think that this is a spirit driven whisky. The cask really is just a finish and it doesn't dominate the whisky at all. It is a very malty, vanilla and fruit forward whisky. It's truly refreshing to drink a whisky like this in these times. Finally not a cask driven whisky. This whisky has personality and it is not afraid to show it. But is it enough for a super high rating? I will award this whisky with 85 / 100. It really does stand out from the DL Blended Malt range for me. I think it is worth to try it and perhaps buying a bottle when it is in promotion is not a bad thing. Great whisky. Buy it, try it. Drink responsibly.

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Check out the points on all the whiskies I've rated and ranked head-to-head over HERE.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.