Continuing my series on Blended Malts, today I look at another of Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts. It’s time to review the Scallywag 10-year-old. This Speyside blend, aged exclusively in Oloroso and PX Sherry casks, is inspired by the Laing family’s Fox Terriers, as the not-so-subtle hints on the label give away. With a name like Scallywag, a synonym for a rascal, we would be justified in expecting something exuberant, even edgy maybe. And that is where I start having an issue with this whisky.
TL:DR: Nothing wrong with it, but it is so smooth that it ends up dull.
Score*: 5, Average in a good way
The expectation boomerang
I was stumped I struggled to write this post because I couldn’t make my thoughts fit in the usual flow of my posts. I also struggled to find the right tone. It could have been a negative post, something I would post only after some serious thought.
So I took a pause. I delayed posting my review for a few days to retest and reconsider what I had written as an ugly first draft. That made me realise where most of my dissatisfaction came from. It all comes down to the expectations set. As I mentioned at the start, the Scallywag name created an image of a feisty dram. The inclusion of Macallan, Mortlach and Glenrothes malts in the blend set up an expectation of some intense, complex Sherry-led notes. And those names in a relatively affordable, if not cheap, blend tickled my excitement.
In the end, instead of being angry, I concluded that the Scallywag 10 I am about to review, is not a bad bottle by any measure. However, it is a very uninspired one. If I had tested it blind I would consider it a passable if unexciting whisky, and -independently of the marketing set up- this is how I am reviewing it.
Douglas Laing’s Scallywag 10 year old
Specs
Price paid: Gifted, but usually available around 45-50€ online
Bottled date: 30/11/2022
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: Not stated on the bottled, but natural colour according to the Douglas Laing website
Non-chill filtered: Not stated on the bottled, but non-chill-filtered according to the Douglas Laing website
Blend components: A mix of Speyside malts including Macallan, Mortlach and Glenrothes, exclusively aged in Oloroso and PX casks
Tasting Notes
Colour: Amber, consistent with the 100% sherry cask ageing.
Nose: Medium intensity. The nose is unmistakeably sherry-driven, but it is so archetypal Oloroso sherry, that it lacks character rather than shine. Nosing this is like if someone had mixed the aromatic oils for what the textbooks define the nose for sherry to be. Without any of the imperfections or outlier aromas you would get in other sherried drams, it fails to capture my curiosity. There are raisins, some mocha, a little baking spice and orange peel. Even a hint of matchstick sulphur. The PX cask influence is just there, with a touch of treacle. But if you blink, you will miss it.
Taste and Finish: The palate is a bit hot, intense but quite simple. I taste some mocha, quite a bit of orange oil and peel, and a bit of baking spice but not much else.
The medium-short finish continues on the same notes, orange, baking spices and mocha with slight, pleasant, bitterness.
Score*: 5 average in a good way
Average is the best definition for the Scallywag 10 in this review. It is a textbook Sherried dram, if you take away the expectation of PX notes, which are at best underwhelming. And like any textbook, it fails to provide the engagement and passion that more spontaneous, if imperfect expressions of Sherry-aged malt provide.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Would I buy it again?
Without even thinking about it, this is a strong no. With 5€ more there are many more interesting bottles out there, and I’d rather pay the little difference and get something that engages my tastebuds. And as far as blends go, as long as it is still there, I would choose Thompson Bros TB/BSW over this any day.
Would I offer this to a new whisky drinker?
Even with my lack of engagement with the Scallywag 10, I recognise this is a good example of Sherried whisky. It would work great to set a baseline for a new drinker. I suspect it will end up serving that function in my collection. With the caveat that once the baseline is set, I would mive to something more interesting quickly.
Stay tuned for a few more Blended malts reviews, on the peaty side.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Scallywag 10 year old I enjoyed:
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