Douglas Laing 70th Anniversary 20 Year Old Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 52%

Some whiskies you can simply go out and buy. Others required you to be standing in a particular room on a particular evening. Douglas Laing turned 70 in 2018, and for the celebration a single sherry butt was emptied. Seventy bottles. Every one of them signed by hand.

The Expert's Description

Douglas Laing 70th Anniversary 20 Years Old is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a single Sherry Butt and bottled at 52%. It was created for the importers and staff who attended the company’s 70th anniversary celebration, never reached a retail shelf, and that alone explains a great deal about how few exist.

The Speyside distillery behind the whisky is undisclosed. That is standard practice when Douglas Laing bottles single casks sourced from distilleries that will not lend their name, and it is why the label reads Single Speyside Malt rather than a distillery name. The style, however, is unmistakable. Twenty years in Spanish sherry oak has pushed dark fruit and depth into the spirit without flattening Speyside's brighter malt sweetness. The cask yielded 70 bottles, hand filled and numbered, each label carrying the signatures of both Fred and Cara Laing.

Douglas Laing has been bottling whisky since 1948 and the firm remains in the family's hands. The 70th Anniversary was their own birthday present to themselves, and one of the rarest pieces of whisky history the family has ever released.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Dark ripe fruit leads: prunes, figs and long-steeped raisins. Behind that sit honey, orange peel and a dry nuttiness from the sherry oak. Give the glass fifteen minutes and vanilla arrives, along with a whisper of old leather.

Palate

Full and close to oily. Caramel and baked apple meet cinnamon and a touch of clove, with oak tannin keeping the sweetness on a short leash. The 52% reads as warmth rather than heat. A few drops of water do not break it apart, they round it out.

Finish

Long and dry. Dark chocolate, pipe tobacco and a nutty bitterness that hangs around well after the last sip. Right at the end the honey comes back.

Specifications

Name: Douglas Laing 70th Anniversary 20 Years Old Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 52%
Bottler: Douglas Laing
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 20 years
ABV: 52%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry Butt
Bottled: 2018
Number of bottles: 70
Edition: 70th Anniversary

Flavour Profile

Sherry Matured · Fruity · Spiced · Nutty · Full Bodied · Oaky

Investment Potential

High. One cask, 70 bottles, never released for general sale and signed by the family behind the firm. That combination makes the bottle genuinely hard to track down, and it has climbed considerably in value since 2018.

Did You Know?

Douglas Laing was founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing. That year Scotch was still rationed after the war, and most of the whisky bottled in Scotland was shipped abroad to earn foreign currency for the British Treasury. The firm was born into a market where whisky was treated almost as a trading commodity, on a par with coal.

See our full range of Douglas Laing

Listen to our podcast:

Frequently Asked Questions about Douglas Laing 70th Anniversary 20 Years Old Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 52%

What makes Douglas Laing 70th Anniversary so rare?

Only 70 bottles exist and none of them were ever put on sale. The bottling came from a single sherry butt and was handed out among importers and staff at the company’s 70th anniversary celebration in 2018. When one surfaces on the market today, it is because an original recipient has let it go.

Is Douglas Laing 70th Anniversary worth seeking out?

It depends what you are after. As a drink you get a 20 year old Speyside from a single first-class sherry cask at natural strength, and the quality is real. As a collectable the case is stronger still: 70 bottles, signed by the Laing family, and a release never intended for the public. Bottles like this rarely come back around.

Which distillery does the whisky come from?

It is undisclosed. Douglas Laing states only the region, Speyside. This is a routine arrangement when a distillery sells casks on without lending its name, and it is why you see Single Speyside Malt on the label instead of a distillery.

What does a 20 year old sherry matured Speyside taste like?

Darker and heavier than the bright fruity style most people associate with the region. The sherry cask layers prunes, raisins, chocolate and spice over Speyside's malt sweetness and honey. If you want to compare it with other bottles from the same area, browse our range of Speyside Whisky.

What exactly is a Sherry Butt?

A Sherry Butt is the largest of the classic sherry casks, roughly 500 litres, built from European oak and seasoned with sherry before whisky goes in. Because the cask is big, maturation runs slower than in a small barrel, which is how a spirit can sit for 20 years without being smothered by wood.

Should I open the bottle or leave it sealed?

There is no right answer, though most people holding two will open one. If you open it, use a glass that gathers the aroma; a tulip-shaped whisky glass makes more difference at 52% than most people expect. Leave it sealed and it stays as much a document as a drink.

How should I store a rare bottle?

Upright, cool and out of direct sunlight. Laid on its side, high strength spirit can attack the cork over time, and a leaking cork means evaporation. Sunlight is the real enemy, bleaching both label and liquid. A cupboard at room temperature is plenty.