I’ve had a few of the Old Particular independent bottlings from Douglas Laing & Co. Their single cask bottlings are sourced from some of my favourite distilleries – Aberlour, Auchentoshan, Ben Nevis, Bowmore and Speyburn just to name a few. They are a third generation, family owned whisky business specialising in small batch, single cask craft whiskies and you will rarely go wrong with one of their choices.

This Douglas Laing Old Particular bottling is a 20 year old Aberlour, aged in a hogshead cask. This whisky is full of fruit – stonefruit and spice on the nose, then caramelised banana, vanilla, brown sugar on the palate. The finish was long and sweet, like poached pears in syrup. It was a remarkable drink that cheered my mood well last night. Suggest you give it a whirl … Whisky as dessert.