Continuing to discover Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Region Malts and after the whisky regions Islay and Speyside, we are now landed in Campbeltown! And this is one that I was looking forward to because as most know by now I am quite a fan of Campbeltown whisky.

The Gauldrons was added to the range in 2017, completing the series. Named after the stormy coves of Campbeltown’s west shores, Gauldrons literally means “bay of storms”. It’s a blended malt made from Campbeltown whisky. Which ones that are is not known, but I think it’s safe to say it mainly contains Glen Scotia and some Springbank.

This Gauldrons is bottled at 46.2% ABV.

The Gauldrons tasting notes:

Nose: quite fresh and fruity, fresh lime zest and green apples, which disappears later on, but makes room for bananas. Vanilla sponge cake. A salty note. And then plastic? Weird. Followed by a floral note, after that it goes back to the lime zest.

Taste: vanilla and honey. Lemon zest in the background. But it’s a little bitter, oak? Quite some spices too, such as black pepper, liquorice and a pinch of anise.

Finish: short to mid-long and somewhat dry, with mainly the same spices as on the palate and a touch of oak and some smoke in the background.

A strange one. The nose is rather fresh and fruity, but this doesn’t come back on the palate and finish. It’s actually the opposite, dry, somewhat bitter and more towards the spices. Although Campbeltown is my favourite whisky region, this is the least I have tasted of the remarkable Region Malts so far. A pity, as the Big Peat and the Scallywag were rather enjoyable. Lovely nose yes, but the palate and finish just don’t live up to that. It feels like something is missing there.

Sample provided by Douglas Laing.