Old Particular is a whisky brand that isn’t readily available in the USA and, at least at the moment, K&L is the only one carrying it. The Old Particular brand belongs to Douglas Laing and is a series of single cask selections which “is a ‘particularly’ sought after range of individually-selected Malts from all over Scotland.” Their other single malt lineups are the Director’s Cut, Premier Barrel and Provenance brands. The bottles in the Old Particular line up aren’t cask strength, but are cut down to what Douglas Laing refers to as “drinking proof” based on their age.
The casks represented in this lineup of 5 whiskies are exclusive to K&L alone which means these whiskies are exclusive to K&L alone. Even if someone else carried a Laphroaig 16 Old Particular bottle it doesn’t mean it’s going to taste the exact same because it would be from a different cask. This is the fun and the frustration of single cask whiskies because as soon as it’s gone… it’s gone.
1998 Tamdhu 16 Year Old K&L Exclusive Old Particular
Price: $100 ABV: 48.4% Non-Chill Filtered Natural Color
- Nose: Big malty notes combined with vanilla, toffee, raw grain (barley), citrus peel and raw pizza dough. Interesting and fun.
- Palate: A rich malty core moves over the palate with lighter notes of vanilla, dusty grain, citrus peel, red fruit, spice, caramel and a touch of mint.
- Finish: Barley, graham, wood and mint on a medium fade.
- Overall: B (83-86) I’m normally not an enormous fan of Tamdhu, but I liked this one. It reminded me a lot of the Roughstock Pure Malt or Stalk and Barrel Single Malt with it’s malt forward sweetness and barley notes and I’d actually put it at the higher end of the B range (85/86).
1996 Tobermory 18 Year Old K&L Exclusive Old Particular
Price: $110 ABV: 48.4% Non-Chill Filtered Natural Color
- Nose: Malt and a banana heavy light fruit move forward trailing notes of honey, cinnamon heavy spice, whipped cream, fresh coconut and a light vanilla buttercream frosting.
- Palate: Malt and complex fruit again lead the way with notes of toffee, spice, citrus zest and caramel cupcakes with a nutty undertone.
- Finish: Medium length and full of malt, fruit, wood, and toasted grains.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) This is a really good whisky and when you combine the aromas and flavors with the round smooth body it makes for a very pleasant drinking experience.
1997 Laphroaig 16 Year Old K&L Exclusive Old Particular
Price: $140 ABV: 48.4% Non-Chill Filtered Natural Color
- Nose: Peat, orchard fruit (like pears and apples), vanilla and a light banana gracefully move along with notes of honeydew, pastry and a slight medicinal undertone.
- Palate: Peat, complex tropical and orchard fruit, honey, malt, toasted nuts and a light bit of cardamom and char.
- Finish: Long and smoky with bits of char, wood, fruit, spice and bbq burnt ends showing up along the way.
- Overall: A- (90-92) This stuff is amazing. Thick and oily it coats the palate with brute smoky peat and delicate sweet and spicy notes. I love it and is one of the bottle from this lineup I’m picking up.
1993 Macallan 21 Year Old K&L Exclusive Old Particular
Price: $250 ABV: 51.5% Non-Chill Filtered Natural Color
- Nose: Heavy dark fruit notes like dried strawberries and blackberry licorice and some winey notes roll out of the glass followed by lighter notes of citrus zest, vanilla, malt and melon rind.
- Palate: Dark nutty fruit and malt with notes of caramel taffy, sherry, spice and light woody notes mix with hints of raisins and berry compote.
- Finish: Long slow finish of dark fruit, malt, wood, menthol and a bit of ash.
- Overall: A- (92) I also really liked this one and was lucky enough to have a friend who picked up a bottle so I got to try it more than once and landed on a solid score. In addition to the rich full flavor and aroma it has a thick oily body and texture that make this one simply magnificent.