After a couple of whisky geek blended malt favourites, SRV5 and Orchard House, it’s time to continue exploring this category with a few reviews of one of the most ubiquitous brands in this space: Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts. Starting today with a review of the Timorous Beastie 10 year old. On paper, this range seems to hit many points for whisky fans. The whiskies are integrity bottled and made to highlight the character of each respective region. And yet, the whiskies in this range are often relegated to the “just OK” shelf. Is there some snobbery at play, or is this a fair judgement? And can a Blended Malt represent a diverse region as the Highlands?
TL:DR:A sweet take on the Highlands, with just enough complexity to save it from being forgettable.
Score: 5.5 Average in a good way, and on the right occasion, good stuff.
Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts
Douglas Laing started as an independent bottler in 1948 in Glasgow. Today their business is focused on the “Exceptional Casks” IB whiskies, the Regional Blended Malts range and now also includes Strathearn Distillery, purchased in 2019, which has recently released its first original bottling.
The Remarkable Regional Malts range has become a staple of the Blended Malt scene for well over a decade. It started back in 2009 with the release of Big Peat, a blend of Islay whiskies aimed at representing the ultimate flavour of the island. On the tail of Big Peat’s success, Douglas Laing launched blends representing each of the Scottish whisky regions.
Scallywag was released in 2013 representing Speyside. It was then followed by Timorous Beastie in 2014 for the Highlands, Rock Island for the unofficial Islands region in 2015, then the Lowland representative, The Epicurean in 2016 and finally, in 2017 The Gauldrons for Campbeltown,
Besides the “base” release, each Remarkable Regional Malt gets several special releases. I suspect that for some, the completist thrill may be part of the charm of this brand. Today’s whisky in review, the Timorous Beastie, has had 25 different releases, according to Whiskybase, including a 40-year-old Blended Malt.
The information on the blend makeup is limited. This might be one of the reasons why this brand gets less love than other Blended Malts from whisky geeks, even if it is an integrity bottling, Douglais Laing mentions that the non-age statement Timorous Beastie contains, among others, Glen Garioch, Dalmore and Glengoyne. Are the blend components the same in the 10 year old? We are left guessing.
In the end, it is the quality of the whisky that counts. Let’s jump into the review of the Timorous Beastie 10 year old.
Douglas Laing’s Timorous Beastie 10 years old
Specs
Price paid: 37.90€
Lot/bottled date: L21 10071
ABV: 46.8%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Blend components: Unspecified single malts exclusively from the Highlands
Tasting Notes
Colour: Very pale straw, almost transparent – whatever the Single Malts in the blend are, the colour points to refill bourbon casks.
Nose: Very sweet, like baked apples and pears with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, covered in Demerara sugar, honey and just a touch of orange zest grated on top. I get some fleeting acacia floral notes here and there. A bit of maltiness is peeking in the background, adding to the pastry/dessert nose. For someone like me, who is not a dessert person, the sweetness is almost too much.
Taste & finish: As pleasant as the nose is, my fear of an equally sweet palate disappears at first sip. The sweet character is tempered and contrasted by sour, spicy and cereal notes. The malt character hits first, then some pleasant citrus freshness. There is some lingering cinnamon and ginger spice. A little nuttiness comes and goes, like a memory of toasted almonds. A slight bitter note ties things off. The mouthfeel is deent for the abv.
The finish, while not very intense, is medium in length. We are back to the pleasant, but slightly cloying sweetness. There is some orange and peach flavour, then malt, and a hint of ginger spice.
Score*: 5.5 Average in a good way, and on the right occasion, good stuff.
While the Timorous Beastie is far from my taste preference, it is a competently-made dram. Sure, it will not rock anyone’s socks off. At least, there is a modicum of complexity that saves it from being boring. Even if it leans strongly towards the sweeter side. if you are looking for a sweeter, well-priced sipper, this deserves a spot among other candidates. One aspect I wanted to explore in this review of the Timorous Beastie 10 was if it could deliver “the taste” of the Highlands. On that front, I would give it an expected Fail mark. There is no way a single bottle can represent Scotland’s most varied region, even if it makes for a nice marketing gimmick.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Would I buy it again?
The flavour profile of the Timorous Beastie 10 year old is pleasant enough but not one that I find particularly engaging. So this will be a single purchase. One that I am sure will make some guests happier than me. If you are wondering why, read on…
Would I offer this to a new whisky drinker?
As much as I steer clear from overly sweet whisky, I know there are a bunch of drinkers out there who prefer a sugary leaning dram. I am a strong believer in understanding what the person in front of me might prefer before offering a whisky to enjoy. In particular with new drinkers. I believe the ideal whisky for newbies straddles between comforting and challenging. With that in mind, the Timorous Beastie 10 would make an ideal dram for someone who enjoys bottles like Glenfiddich 12 and wants to move to higher abv and a little extra depth of flavour.
After writing my tasting notes, I always like looking at other opinions. Here are a couple of reviews of the Douglas Laing Timorous Beastie 10 year old I enjoyed:
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