Founded in 1948, Glaswegian company Douglas Laing & Co is a family-run Scotch independent bottler and blender which according to some witty critics, "proved the value of nepotism". Brothers, Fred Jr. and Stewart Laing succeeded their father who started the company (Fred Douglas Laing) and built many well-known brands amongst Scotch devotees. These brands include Scallywag, Big Peat, Rock Oyster and Timorous Beastie.

The benefits of running a multi-generational Scotch business is clear. Douglas Laing is something of a vintage whisky library – owning vast stocks of different single malts built up over the last 60 odd years. The company has steadily expanded it's highly-rated range, releasing malts and blends of older and older vintages. They certainly did not let their dad down the past 30 years.  

Like many an old Scotsman or woman, the company does have a bit of dry personality. Detailing the bio of Fred Jr., the current Chairman and eldest son of the founder, the company's website explained:

His Father, Fred Sr., was always adamant that his son’s mistakes should be made in someone else’s business, and so Fred apprenticed under several Scotch Whisky greats, before joining the family business in 1972.

The story goes that one Summer in 1998, brothers Fred and Stewart got together for whisky tasting and declared "Some of these malts are too good to blend!" This was how the Old Malt Cask selection was launched, to showcase some of the good single cask single malts in Douglas Laing's collection that were previously earmarked for blended whiskies.

This series of whiskies are always non-coloured and non-chill filtered to maintain the original texture and mouthfeel of the single malt. They are almost always bottled at around 50% ABV because the master blender believes this is the optimal strength for flavour and drinkability when taken neat. 

By the 2008, Old Malt Cask has grown to become an established brand amongst Scotch devotees, coveted for its quality and drinkability. In an annual message to fans, the company unabashedly pointed out that finding a bottle of Old Malt Cask isn't as easy as buying grocery store whisky:

"Getting your hands on a bottle from our coveted Old Malt Cask range, for example, can prove a pleasant adventure, nothing too intrepid – but, rest assured, it won’t involve fighting for a parking space at your local supermarket. Instead, a foray to the discreet atmosphere of select, specialist liquor emporiums will prove revelatory and, like our gently nurtured whiskies, hugely satisfying."

I have with me here a 10 year old single malt from Ardbeg Distillery, distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2001 by Douglas Laing for its Old Malt Cask selection. The ABV comes in at 58%. The cask style is not disclosed, but from the straw coloured spirit, an intelligent guess would be American oak which is the classic Ardbeg style. 

One question we have in our head is: how does a 10 YO Ardbeg from the 1990s size up with the modern Ardbeg Ten? Smokier or less smoky? Punchier or less punchy?

Let's taste it!

Ardbeg 1990, 10 Years Old, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 50% ABV - Review

Colour: Sunflower oil.

On the nose: Fresh, mineral, zesty and ashy. Opens with bright pineapple fruitiness with a tangy bite to it. I'm getting fresh pineapples with all its juiciness and acidity, slowly turning towards a zestiness and mild rum funkiness of a Jamaican rum piña colada.

A briny, ashy layer of smoke begins to show up. Medicinal notes – unusual in a modern Ardbeg – slowly grow amid the smoke with a slight iodine, bandaids, blown-out candles and a coastal seaweed impression. All of which integrated with a touch of powerful spearmint and eucalyptus. 

Not a punchy smokebomb. Much more elegant and nuanced in its smokiness compared to the unbridled intensity of the modern Ardbeg Ten. 

On the palate: Thrilling, aromatic and oily in texture.

First sip starts off with an initial pepperiness, before opening up with cold ash and burnt lemon rinds. Gives way to some mild sweetness and clarity that reminds me of bitter chrysanthemum tea, very mild sweetness of rock sugar, Chinese chicken soup with tons of red dates and ginger.

Several drops of mineral water would then magnify other interesting complexities. A playful, nippy lemon zest takes over and gently pricks the upper palate. Smoke continues to billow out, accompanied by a wave of maritime coastal notes also make an impression now; sea spray and dill pickle brine with hot mustard seeds.  

There's a hint of aviation fuel to be sure.

The notes are fresh, bright and prickly, the mouthfeel is mildly viscous. There isn't much fruitiness or much sweetness seen in the modern Ardbeg Ten. Sweet vanilla notes seen in modern Ardbegs are also noticeably absent. Smoke is a restrained ashiness here, leaving more room for other layers of coastal notes and lemon zestiness to share the centre stage.

The finish: is medium length with some oak influence finally showing up. As the spirit clears the palate we have dry oakiness emanating from the back of the throat, accompanied by gently bitter depths of dark chocolate and espresso.

My thoughts

Islay whiskies of older vintages often make me a little wistful. Why do they not make whiskies like that anymore?

Squaring up this Ardbeg 1990 (10 YO) and modern Ardbeg Tens, you would immediately notice that many modern Ardbegs tend to be filled with a sweet core balanced out by intense smoke, as if sweetness and smokiness are on either sides of a see-saw. I love that the older Ardbeg 1990 is much more restrained in sweetness and smokiness, leaving more room for subtlety and and other dimensions to show; brine, nippy lemon zest and minty eucalyptus.

A little historical tidbit on Ardbeg Distillery: before it became acquired by Glenmorangie Plc (which still owns it today), Ardbeg was run by Allied Distillers, which also owned Laphroaig, between 1989 and 1996. This change of hands could explain why Ardbeg expressions distilled in the early 1990s seem so distinct from the Ardbegs of today. 

Yet history reveals paradoxes. Even as vintage Scotch lovers have a lot of fondness for Ardbeg's older pre-1996 expressions, the modern Ardbeg Distillery (under the management of Glenmorangie Plc) is much more successful at harnessing the "cult distillery" branding of Ardbeg, resurrecting it from years of intermittent closure and expanding its pool of fans into a worldwide club of acolytes.    

Learn how Glenmorangie Plc saved Ardbeg Distillery and turned it into a worldwide phenomenon.  

@CharsiuCharlie