The Epicurean (더 에피큐리언)

(한국어 시음기 밑에 있어요!)

Very recently I attended a Douglas Laing tasting session in Seoul and had the opportunity to try five of their blended malts. Traditionally, the Douglas Laing company was an independent bottler of whiskies sourced from other distilleries (though in recent years they now own distilleries too). Sometimes they would release single cask variants and sometimes single malt that were differentiated from the releases of the original distillery by blending different casks of the same component whisky together. However, they are probably most famous for their blended malt range, with each one being sourced from a selection of distilleries in each of Scotland's whisky producing regions, with the notable exception of Campbelltown due to their low stocks of Campbelltown whiskies. They do occasionally make a version from this region, but only as a limited edition release.

Of the five whiskies I tried, the first was "The Epicurean", a no age statement lowland blended malt, with component whiskies drawn from the main distilleries of the region; Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie being two of the primary ones. So how is it?

Vitals:

ABV: 46.2%

Colour: Pale straw, almost like white wine.

Chill-filtered: No.

Nose: Big cereal notes on the nose, but somewhat nutty too, with notes of cashews and almonds. a touch of honey and cream can be detected. As the cereal notes fade, it develops into a delicate floral aroma with lots of honeysuckles and chamomile. I wrote yesterday that the Yamazaki 12 had a flowery breakfast picnic style going on. Well, so does this whisky too. 20.5/25

Palate: A light gingery spice hits, followed by butterscotch and an almost milk fudge like sweetness. There's a very light and citrus-like fruitiness to it with zesty lemons and tart green apples. With a little bit of digging, freshly harvested garden strawberries and white seedless grapes are also present. 19.5/25

Finish: Tangy cereal, as if eating a bowl of granola drenched in Greek yogurt, with a dash of lemon and a pinch of black pepper for good measure. Sweet, if a little sour, but long. 21/25

Value*: It comes in at the same price as most entry level single malts in Korea at the moment, which may seem like it's a bit over-priced for a blended malt. However, this whisky is easily better than its components as it blends out most of the weaknesses of lowland whiskies. 15/25

Conclusion:

The Epicurean has a lot going for it. It's extraordinarily light and delicate, but doesn't skimp on complexity. It's friendly and smooth, but not to the point of being boring. It would be the kind of whisky that you'd want to introduce a wine drinker to because it has much of the same characteristics as a good quality white wine. It would make a perfect aperitif at just about any dinner.

Basic Rating: 81.3%

Price Adjusted Rating*: 76%

Daily Drinker: Yes.

Possible pairing: Light desserts such as sponge cake or muffins, or as an aperitif for dinner.

Where to find in Korea: Jura Shop (주라숍)

TLDR Version:

N: Floral and like breakfast. Cereal, granola, almonds, cashews, honey and cream. Honeysuckle and chamomile.

P: Ginger, butterscotch, milk fudge, lemons, green apples, white grapes and strawberries.

F: Cereal and greek yogurt, lemon and black pepper. Long, sweet and sour.

V: Around the same price as entry level priced single malts, but better!

C: Very light and easy to drink.

더 에피큐리언 (한국어):

N: 꽃향, 시리얼, 그래놀라, 아몬드, 캐슈넛, 꿀, 크림, 인동덩굴, 카모마일. 서양식 아침식사 같아요.

P: 생강, 버터 스카치, 우유 캬라멜, 레몬, 사과, 청포도, 딸기.

F: 시리얼와 그릭 요거트. 레몬, 후추. 피니시가 길고 달고 셔요. V: 다른 싼 위스키와 가격이 같지만 더 좋아요!

C: 마시기 쉬워요.

Buy / Mooch / Pass: Buy.

Review by Glasgowhisky

2020/02/21