Recently – with a little help from de Monnik Dranken – we adopted a little Speyside puppy. Don’t feel bad for our best buddy Charlie right here, because this little feller came in liquid form.
Scallywag is a mixed-breed of Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes, among others, he’s bred under the watchful eye of Douglas Laing. While the portion of Macallan is most likely to be slim, we picked up huge Glenrothes notes in this. As an avid buyer of independently bottled sherried Glenrothes, I can safely say that I was pleased when we tasted this for the first time:
Yellow raisins, grape peels, herbal/cannabis, gold kiwi, cherries and apples, canned peaches, licorice, cured ham, bechamel and grannies stew.
The palate is mouth filling, and to be honest, it’s quite better than we expected it to be. With hints of raisins, sweet cough syrup, spices, oak, dried fruits and Maggi (only the Dutch will know).
Quite short, takes a few sips to dissect. Spicy, dark chocolate, slightly bitter, old wood, sandy/minerally, yellow raisins, savoury hints of broth and tobacco.
Our first encounter with the Remarkable Regional Malts range was quite the opposite experience. Big Peat was like a grumpy old man having good day, while Scallywag offers some playfulness and serious Speyside (almost sherried Highlands) notes. If the tail was only a wee bit longer… Considering the price, this is definitely an easy buy in our books, especially if you are a sherry lover like us.