Douglas Laing's The King of Scots 50 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky (700ml)

"This whisky is not a good one. It is an amazing one." - whiskybase.com

Douglas Laing have launched a momentous King of Scots 50 Years Old limited edition which holds historic importance within Douglas Laing’s 75th Anniversary celebrations. The Scotch Whisky family have been long renowned for their mastery of blending, a passion which has been passed down through three generations. Established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, the first brand in the company’s portfolio was King of Scots. Purchased post-war, the brand, together with only three casks of whisky, began what would become Douglas Laing & Co. as we know it today. Over the years the whisky has held high prestige and to this day, only the closest members of the family know the particulars of the recipe!

What we do know is that it's created with an extremely special selection of Douglas Laing’s oldest and finest casks. With a rare Blended Whisky of this age, you can expect the sweetness of orchard fruits, mixed with creamy, honeyed notes. Showcased in luxurious and premium diamond anniversary style packaging, enhanced with gold foil, the history of the brand stands out loud and clear as the pack proudly bears the signature Lion Rampant, used by the Kings of Scotland for hundreds of years. Fred Laing, Chairman, and second generation in the family business comments, "75 years after my father bought King of Scots in 1948, the brand is still commercially and emotionally very important to Douglas Laing & Co. As it formed the basis of our early blending skills and helped us to open Domestic and Travel Retail markets, to now see a limited and special release of a 50 Years Old blend would make our founder very happy, in the same way it makes the family very proud today. The packaging very much reflects the attention to detail and quality which we have brought to the blend within."

Other reviews... Kudos to Douglas Laing for their 75th Anniversary (I repeat myself), kudos for composing a 50-year-old, and kudos for bottling it at 46% instead of 40%, as others might have done for a blend. Moreover, this brand is the first of the company and was launched in 1948! It remains to be seen which King of Scotland it was, perhaps the nose of this glorious old whisky will tell us (yeah, right...) By the way, the price is really decent for a 50-year-old, even for a blend (£625). Colour: gold. Nose: one cannot help but think of those old Invergordons, and perhaps Garnheath, or Strathclyde... In short, old grains that have finally become superb after many years in the cask. Some very nice old coconut liqueur, overripe apples, vanilla, then we move on to aged Sauternes, vanilla fudge, shortbread from Mr. Walker's, pistachio nougat... What we really don't find is malt, but in this context, it might not even be necessary. Maybe we'll find it on the palate? Mouth: oh this is pretty! Between old grain and old bourbon, with touches of varnish, a dry fruitiness, lots of nuts of all kinds, bitter orange, a touch of brandy (Armenian style), a well-controlled woodiness, a bit of bitter coffee, strands of tobacco... Finish: it becomes more bitter but that's the fate of all very old whiskies. Walnut wine, cocoa, tobacco, and finally, that famous old coconut liqueur that seals it all. And bitter orange liqueur. Comments: yes, of course, under these conditions, I love grain whisky. I didn't see the malt passing by, but I'm sure it was there, lurking in the shadows. 90 points - whiskyfun.com

For my notes and opinion here it is. This whisky is not a good one. It is an amazing one. So much so that I broke my promise to myself when I opened one. I thought I will just try a glass and then the rest are samples. 3 glasses in of tasting this old mix of Invergordon, 53 Year Old Cambus and mix of Speyside.... the mix works too well to create an almost addictive ice cream, light grain, old wood, butterscotch & citrus blend. The colour is not so dark on this but ignore that part. The taste is great whether with a dash of water or by itself. How often do you ever get to try a 50 Year Old anything? Credit is given where credit is due. And on this occasion DL have hit one out of the ball park. It costs less than £650 and is just a sublime drink. the packaging is impressive too with its palladium silver & gold accents yet not over the top. The more OTT packaging the more the costs. Everything about this is reasonable and it is just a little sad that soon it will all be finished since there weren't that many bottles made and soon the DL 50 Year Old King of Scots will be talk of the past. It came out in 2023 and here we are in 2024 with not a lot to go around. One for the zombie apocalypse shelf I guess after I finish one of these. If anyone has tried Cambus 30 Years Old plus, then this is an older brother to it who is wiser, darker and tastes better. Control yourselves when you open this because the end of the dram brings sadness that you haven't got more there but be patient and have some another day. Or if you earned too much in commission last month then sure, finish it and get another. - whiskybase.com

"Maybe the best grain whisky I’ve ever had, except the King of Scots 50 Years isn’t a grain whisky. It’s just that the grain elements are dominant". - whiskybase.com