As one of the world’s foremost independent bottlers, whisky connoisseurs expect only the most compelling drams from Douglas Laing. The company was founded in 1945, and in the decades since has built an impressive stock of whisky casks from distilleries all over Scotland, expressed in thoughtfully crafted blends as well as in exceptional single cask releases.
For the latter, Douglas Laing has a couple of particularly coveted aces up its sleeve from the long-defunct Port Ellen distillery. Closed in 1983, Port Ellen remains an icon of peaty, Islay malts, and its spirit is much sought-after by collectors. Diageo, the current owners of Port Ellen, has announced that it is reopening next year – but for whisky enthusiasts, it is the vintage offerings that will by far have the most appeal. Two of these, from Douglas Laing, form part of the XOP (Xtra-Old Particular) collection, which represents the best that the brand has to offer: the XOP Port Ellen 35 Years Old (RM9,650) and XOP Black Port Ellen Vintage 1979 (RM17,168).
“People love what they can’t have, and the fact that Port Ellen is a closed distillery on a small, remote Scottish island helps make it pretty special,” says Cara Laing, Director of Whisky at Douglas Laing. “That elusive aspect, coupled with the fact that it’s a pretty exceptional spirit, is a winning combination.”
“Port Ellen is definitely a firm favourite for the Douglas Laing family,” she continues. “It was my grandfather’s favourite whisky, and one my dad and I have enjoyed together on many a special occasion over the years – including my wedding!” Cara is part of the third generation of the Laing family to be involved with the company that her grandfather, Fred Douglas Laing, founded over seven decades ago. “Port Ellen has a gently smoked, leathery elegance to it,” she says. “It’s obviously an Islay malt but it’s so refined and charming as opposed to other Islay Malts where you just get a massive punch of peat and smoke and nothing else.” This is especially evident in the 35-year old offering, which is remarkably balanced for a single cask whisky; 133 bottles of this were extracted from a refill hogshead and presented at 54.3 per cent ABV. Half of the entire output from this single cask is now available in Malaysia through HRZ Beverages.
“Our Port Ellen XOP Black bottling is incredible and very much reflects that archetypal Port Ellen style with a touch of brown sugar, spice and chewed leather!” Cara says of the 1979 expression; this one is limited to 299 bottles taken from a refill butt and bottled at 49.6%. The XOP Black line is presented in especially premium fashion in a luxury gift box, and is hand-signed by Cara and her father, Fred.
To the collector, there is no greater allure than the chance to experience something that would otherwise be lost – but Cara also notes another aspect of vintage appeal. “There are a lot of people who believe whisky was made better back in the 70s, 80s, early 90s,” she muses. “Whether that is the case or not is up for debate, but there is definitely a school of thought amongst whisky enthusiasts that some of the now-closed distilleries made the best whisky, as they never got the chance to be modernised, or have computers ‘take over.’”
