The end brings on a very subtle barley tea, sugarless Frosted Flakes and lemon meringue. Conclusions:

Campbeltown, once a bustling hub of whisky production with over 30 distilleries, is known for its distinctive style of whisky, characterised by its briny, maritime qualities and complex flavour profiles. The Gauldrons is a true testament to this unique style, capturing the essence of Campbeltown's whisky heritage in every bottle.The story of Bruce and the Spider is almost certainly just that – a story. It first appeared in the writings of Sir Walter Scott, a man for whom gritty realism was never a high priority. Similar stories were told about other significant historical figures, including Bruce’s colleague, James Douglas. Still, just like the spider, these stories are designed to inspire and to teach us a lesson – in this case – “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”. So while the link between Bruce’s spider and the whiskies of Campbeltown may be rather tenuous (that’s being generous) we’ll give Douglas Laing some leeway since it’s a nice story and the spider looks good on the label. The Gauldrons is a captivating blend of single malt Scotch whiskies from the Campbeltown region, known for its distinctive maritime character and complex flavour profile. It is a whisky that tells a story, capturing the essence of its region and the art of whisky blending in every sip. With its rich history, complex character, and the skill of the master blender behind it, The Gauldrons stands as a tribute to the whisky heritage of Campbeltown and a must-try for whisky enthusiasts and collectors alike. The whisky is matured in oak casks, which contribute to its rich colour and flavour profile. The maritime climate of Campbeltown, with its salty sea air and cool, damp conditions, plays a crucial role in the maturation process, imparting unique characteristics to the whisky and adding to its complexity and depth. The Gauldrons is a blended malt Scotch whisky, which means it is a blend of single malt whiskies from different distilleries within the Campbeltown region. The art of blending is a skill that has been honed over centuries in Scotland, and it requires a keen sense of taste and a deep knowledge of the characteristics of different whiskies. The master blender’s goal with The Gauldrons is to create a whisky that showcases the best of Campbeltown’s unique style, bringing together various expressions to create a harmonious and balanced whisky.

Douglas Laing’s ‘Remarkable Regional Malts’ are a series of blended malt whiskies that represent each of Scotland’s whisky regions. Released in late 2017, the Gauldrons was the final piece of the jigsaw, consisting of malts from Campbeltown. The name comes from an area of coastline at Machrihanish, 5 miles from the town. The beautiful bottle, meanwhile, is adorned with the image of a spider, in reference to one of Scotland’s most famous legends. The Gauldrons is often enjoyed neat or with a drop of water, which can help to open up the aromas and flavours, allowing the drinker to appreciate the complexity and nuances of this exceptional whisky fully. It is also a favourite among whisky connoisseurs and collectors, who appreciate its unique character and the sense of history and tradition that it embodies. Thoughts: The Remarkable Regional Malts series offers exceptional value for money. For a start, they’re higher strength, un-chill-filtered and natural colour. The quality is high and the price, relatively speaking, is low. On the nose: The different aromas form a fluffy-like and puffy texture that’s unfamiliar to me, but quite pleasing. Upfront are notes of Springbank-like peat & smoke and salted vanilla caramel. The fluffy aromas give me an image of a cotton candy composed of the above notes. Taste: Buttery shortbread and pastry. Wee touch of fresh mint. Sea salt and pepper. Smoky, slightly oaky finish.In the mouth: More jumbled up. It’s like citrus, salt, smoke and confectionery notes all fight for position, but it has a really oily texture that strongly encourages me to keep chewing, and to let all of the notes play out. Will this be like Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstopper in Campbeltown-whisky flavored form? The more I chew, the more I taste, and there is no falling off. So there it is, the second batch of The Gauldrons. Within the Regional Malts of independent distiller Douglas Laing this whisky is the representative of Campbeltown. It’s not revealed which malts are married for The Gauldrons, but you count the active distilleries of the peninsula of Campbeltown on one hand – and won’t need all fingers… We’re currently delivering to the following countries including Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand (16 of 17 regions), Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, & United States (20 of 62 states inc Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC, & Wyoming). The decline of Scotland’s former whisky capital has left the Campbeltown region with only three single malt distilleries left. It would be easy to assume that this expression is composed of single malts from all three remaining operations, but Paul can only state with certainty that this is a blend of at least two distilleries.

Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Hopefully, that doesn’t make you less interested. After all, each of the distilleries makes different styles of single malt. Springbank makes the unpeated Hazelburn, the semi-peated Springbank and the heavily peated Longrow. Glengyle Distillery makes a peated and a heavily-peated single malt. Glen Scotia makes both peated and unpeated malts. They have two different fermentation lengths as well. This means they could actually be making at least four different styles of whisky, so the whisky used to make Gauldrons may have merely come, at minimum, from two different distilleries. No matter what, it’s highly likely to be composed of different styles of single malts. The Gauldrons Batch 4 – Review Nose: Quite cereal-y and sweet on the get-go, with some dough and baking spices, lemon and a wee tiny hint of peat. a faint brine-y touch, and more vanilla, a distant medicinal note (iodine, maybe) all in all light and sweeter than expected. I have a minute complaint about the mouth. The initial sensation when this whisky touched my tongue contrasted sharply with the nose. It was very messy, so the close-to-perfect impression that emerged from the nose was ruined. Thankfully, the everlasting parade of flavors that remain make up for the mess.

Score: 8/10

In autumn 2017 the first batch of The Gauldrons was released, now the second batch is available and it is also very limited. As the first one it was bottled at 46.2 % ABV, uncoloured and unchill-filtered. The aroma is characterized by notes of honey, brown sugar, vanilla, spice, salt, oak and light smoke. The Gauldrons, a unique and intriguing Scotch whisky, is steeped in history, tradition, and a hint of mystery. Produced in the Campbeltown region, one of the distinctive whisky-producing areas of Scotland, The Gauldrons stands out with its complex character and rich flavour profile, which are deeply influenced by the maritime climate and traditional distilling methods of the region.