Better late than never but it’s about time I’ll check out the latest batch of Scallywag Cask Strength. I had the magical opportunity to be at Douglas Laing HQ when the original Scallyway was released and I loved it so lets check it out and see if this batch of the Cask Strength (4800 bottles) manages to keep up to the high standard of the original.
Douglas Laing Scallywag Cask Strength Batch #2 (54.1%, £45.98/€54,90)
Nose: Malty which isn’t surprising as I assume it will be young, and energetic (thanks to those extra %), strong sherry impact, dried berries, sultanas, white pepper, demerara sugar, vanilla pods are scatter through, quite lively and punchy. Continue reading
Nose: For a 10 year old it’s very mellow and very mature. Good sherry influence here with mellow dried fruits and lots of nuttiness, definitely not overpowering. Wood spices and gentle peat smoke. I really like it.
Nose: I thought (and hoped) it will be a classic meaty Mortlach nose but it’s not. Not that it’s a bad nose mind you. There are raisins and sweet dried red berries on the top with some cloves and cinnamon, overall feels a bit jammy. One time Lemon pie note, big brown sugar sweetness, A bit floral and polished furniture library. After a while finally some stronger meaty notes shows up here and there. 
Nose: Strong waxy note at first (from the Clynelish), vanilla, some muted oak spices that smells like they stop the sweetness in its track, floral edge and then it’s mostly soft oak spices. After a while the sweetness is back along with some green bark. 
Nose: Smells nice and despite the youth notes in it, it smells older. Quite solid and dense nose with a lot of dust, citrus fragrance with lemon and a bit of lime, cereals, cookies dough, hints of white pepper and spices, creamy and rich. 
Nose: What a rich and dense nose. It’s pretty heavy with prunes, dried berries and fresh orange peels. Has that jammy/marmalade feel to it, wax and smoke, maybe even smoked wax?, sweet raisins, old library and furniture like visiting the grandparents, light mint spice shows up after a while along with some chocolate and coffee to balance the heavy fruitiness, feels quite fresh and lively. 
Nose: Classic Ardbeg peat and smoke, but not so ashy at first although this get rectified over time along with meat in sweet sauce and soot. Sweetness originating from the sherry casks – sweet red fruits, more fresh fruit than dried and with jammy edge. I quite like it as it’s not overpowering and there’s a good balance here. With water: sweeter with sherry notes taking the front seat. 
Nose: rich and velvety, caramel and toffee. A lot of sherry notes: soaked raisins, nutmeg and a bit of cinnamon, dried sour berries, dark chocolate. But it’s also carries some saltiness and some leather-ness (yeah, not a real word but you get the meaning, right?) after a while. 
Nose: A very sweet nose. nutty and somewhat winey with tannins, fruity with a lot of apricots. The peat is very restrained, cured BBQ meat, sweet smoke and generally the Kilchoman peat profile is right there in the background but muted. Again apricots and white pepper, not a very complex nose but it’s lovely, balanced and rounded.
Whisky Gospel 