A harmonious blend of some rare and wondrous ichors

Malinos, I get the bitter notes also unfortunately my tasting notes are not showing so putting them here again.

Nose  Plum, sour apple, polish, candle wax, some meat notes and after a while there is something fishy in the mix, like a plate of sardines in tomato sauce but in the next room (Jesus, I cannot believe I just said that), a distant fishiness???   Yeah, crab, brine, but definite seafood smell in there.  

Taste 

YUK, I do not like it, flat bitterness is what hits me first, that cannot be right, people are going mad for this, is my palate ok???? 

Rinsed palate -   Not as bitter but it is still there mixed in with some fruit like guava, mango and bitter plum.  Getting creamy and the fruit is developing and it is a little lack lustre for the relatively high strength but the fruit is getting sweeter.   

Finish 

Medium length, quite sweet.    Neat, the finish is the best part, but the bitterness spoils it and it lacks balance for me    With Water  The nose has more fruit, the palate has more fizz and still a decent length.  I love blends but in my humble opinion old blends do not seem to go together that well, I thought the same about the Black Bull 40 year batch 1. 

After all the glowing tributes I am disappointed with this and feel it is too expensive for the quality of the product.  The adage old is not always better certainly applies here.  It is ok but nothing more and the bitter notes swamp it.

It is not massively bitter but everything else is quite subdued hence why I notice it.  Do not add too much water because falls away.   

Too expenisve for what it is, I think people are being ripped off if you go on quality alone.  Yes its 40 years old but it does not matter if the quality is not there and I do not think it is here.

Nose: mild, honey, vanilla, biscuit, malt, some wood noticeable, nectar bright fruits Taste: creamy, very sweet, vanilla ice cream, honey, malt, slightly snappy, some citrus fruit, large volume, almost too spicy Departure / aftertaste: the impressions of nose and taste continue - long, slightly spicy, sweet but also slightly bitter Comment: Yes, a good blended malt, but I already had other grenades in this age group in the glass (although not so "cheap"); had read in some places that the 40yo was a bit more complex than the 21yo. I can not confirm. I like the 21yo and therefore ... Points: 90/100

Nose: Wonderfull sweet and oak, it really shows some depth! It has classic bourbon notes in it, but in a special way. Like there is vanilla, but it smells like very good vanilla ice-cream, there is some wood polish in it but also a slight hint of sherry.

Taste: Sweet and sour, woody, hints of canned fruit. Some sherry notes are there too. Sweet and sour pickles. Vanilla, toffee fudge. A very very tasty dram. Some camphor and an hint of mint.

Body: Full and creamy!

Finish: long! Bitter sweet, bitter oranges. Some fruit syrup (as found in canned fruit). Wood and vanilla again

Price: Between 275 and 300 euro is very fair for this bottle and quality!

Presentation: Very well! sober and not too serious!

Comments: A very well blended malt!

The title of the whisky was taken from a Robert Burns poem called “To A Mouse.” This ode is fairly difficult for modern eyes to decipher. Here’s the line from which the title is taken: “Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie, O, what a pannic’s in thy breastie!” This roughly translates into the lines: “Little, sleek, cowering, timid beast / Oh, what a panic is in your chest!”

To call Timorous Beastie 40 Year Old “smooth” is both a cliche, as well as an understatement. Yes, it requires dedication and patience to fully appreciate. No, it’s not suited for sipping quickly with an eye on one’s pocket watch (or cell phone). Regardless of the occasion, however, drinking this dram at its native cask strength is not so very hard.

Such a feat might come as a surprise to the timid of heart, especially considering the fact that the malt blend was bottled in 2016 at a whopping 109.4 proof. Hence the relevance of this whisky’s cryptic, though colorful, title. At any rate, let’s move on to the business of sniffing and tasting, to see what sort of impressions jump out of the glass.

Appearance: Fair legs grip the sides of your glass as passionately as Madonna straddling a dancer on stage. Well-defined beading corroborates this whisky’s forty year old age statement. I just love the pale gold color, which seems darker in the bottle.

Nose: Baked cinnamon roll; caramel corn; tropical fruits like mango and papaya; figgy pudding; beeswax; clover honey; allspice; and finally, a whisper of oak. The wood presence seems to hover, out of time, occasionally interrupting the orderly procession of other notes, which come and go like clockwork in every sip (more or less).

Palate: Wow, this opens more bombastically than I’d expected from the delicate and complex nose. Enter: junk food junkie. I’m getting notes of Bit o’ Honey, Twix Bar, and Butterfinger. Meanwhile, the tip of my tongue feels tricked by lemon zest and dried orange peel. But wait, there’s more . . . . Lemon Pledge announces its presence, moving the palate in a more industrial direction. In the past, I’ve encountered this rare tasting note before in old Highland and Campbeltown malts. What a nice surprise!

Malty notes are also big players in this blend. They brighten up one’s dram considerably, giving the impression of warm, baked goods. Mmm, a chance to taste the cinnamon roll that was present in the nose. Decadent! I really like the way the malts come together to form a cohesive overall impression, rather than struggling against each other like disgruntled Highland chieftains.

Lastly, comes a bitter, woody note . . . which is actually quite a welcome change. Why? Because bitterness mitigates so many top-heavy, sweet notes, which initially coated the tongue. Along with the oak, dried pressed flowers add a delicate, floral note. Very nice. Wait for the finish . . . here it comes: long as long can be, and finally expiring with a brush of Lemon Pledge on antique wood furniture.

As a caveat, it’s worth mentioning how the addition of water tends to ameliorate some of the overpoweringly dominant sugary notes, thus adding more depth to the whisky. By “depth,” we’re talking about more of an interplay between malt and oak, which never exceeds a (pleasingly) timorous role in the blend. Of course, such a statement is not meant to seem ungrateful for Douglas Laing’s generously high ABV.

Color: Full Gold

Nose: Lovely. You're smacked in the face with beeswax and fresh fruit. Such a wonderful combination, deftly executed here. It's a characteristic profile of non-heavy (sherry, peat, or even "big" malts like Mortlach) malts that reach this age (compare it to some of the undisclosed mid-'70s Speysiders minus the tropical nature of the fruit). At the same time, you really are taken aback by how "fresh" it feels. Kind of an odd combination, but still a remarkably good one. Citrus starts to emerge, as well. And before you think it's not particularly complex, as it develops in the glass, you even come across something of a solvent note, which plays really well as a tinge to the primary surge of beeswax and fruit. Water pulls out more farmy notes: hay, specifically.

Taste: The arrival is about what you'd expect at near 55%, there's a little nip, but it's definitely drinkable neat. In fact, it's damned good. The mouth feel is medium, but that suits the profile here--this is not some oily, mouth-coating monster. Instead, it's a balanced, delicate-but-full old glory. The fresh fruits continue, but they've got a richer, fuller depth here. Strong flavors--we're not talking green apple or anything like that, but ripe plums, etc. The honey is there, of course, but because of the fruit, it has a darker taste. None of this, of course, is meant to suggest sherry traits. Sweeter when water is added, like rich fruit syrups being incorporated.

Finish: Lingers on the richer elements of the fruit and honey.

Comments: A total stunner. When you factor in the price when it was originally sold (and the very nominal mark-up at which I bought it at an auction shortly after it sold out in the primary market), it's one of the greatest bottles I've ever beheld. This is every bit in the class of super-premium bottles that actually live up to their price and hype. I mentioned the large parcel of undisclosed Speysiders from the 1970s earlier on as a partial smell comparison. They're also a good analogy for overall quality: If you follow things closely, know where to look, and all that, then you can occasionally find unbelievable value among the indies with blended and undisclosed malts. That's certainly the case here, and Douglas Laing should be commended.

I tried this drop as a sample. That's why I dare not write any Tastingnotes after the consumption of 2 Cl.
My impression was that I would not spend this money on this whiskey. He was tasty, but in the PLV sucks underground.

It is over a year since I tried this so lets see if I still think it is worth a relatively low (all things considering) 75 points which is my MOTR score for whisky generally.
Actually I think 75 points is too good this is far to bitter neat like a grain whisky gone bad,
I think many people thought that a 40 year for roughly £200 was a good buy on its release and they would be right but the high score really flatters this one this is a £30-£40 taste all day long in my respectful book.

Whiskyfun awarded 91 points to the Timorous Beastie 40 year old. "Now let’s go buy a bottle or a case of that wee beastie…"

Mmmh, mashed fruits: mirabelle plums, banana, melon ... Fresh and minty. Very sweet, and honeyed. The oak appears gradually. With water, some citrus notes in addition. On the palate, frank attack on the oak. Intense and bitter. The first sip is really very dry, the following is sweet. Final also on oak and bitterness, reminiscent of coffee. Beautiful !

Enthusiasm 4/5

Fantastic whisky but a bit pricey!

Nose: Bamm, it starts right from the beginning like a grenade. Full, rich nose, beautiful honey sweetness, almonds, vanilla and marzipan. A lot of ripe fruits like apricot, peach, pineapple, gooseberry, green apples and mirabelle plums, caramel and a dash of spices from the oak like pepper, ginger and cinnamon, somehow it always changes from sweet to sour (green apple, pineapple and gooseberry) and then to the spices - all very well interwoven and hugely combined

Taste: The interplay continues, sweet fruits, sour fruits and spices, but here more cinnamon and ginger, the oak comes to bear more. But well balanced again, because you can chew on it forever, you do not want to swallow

Finish: long, very long! Here dominates the green apple at the beginning, later comes through the honey increasingly, and it ends with many woody spicy notes, again ginger

Conclusion: Fantastic !!!! Who needs single malt when there are such blended malts? A high on the Blender by Douglas Laing - 92 points

Nose: So smooth, so Yummy. Buttered tart with very ripe, juicy apricots. Vanilla, sweetness. A real kouign-amann (famous breton pastry)! Fruit spread and orange zest.

Mouth: buttered, spicy, pastry. Sweet (Apple Candy), notes of aromatic plants (laurel and verbena). Delicately oaky, autumn leaves. A little taste of Strawberry Oat Clusters and natural yogurt (discovered on Islay) covered with an oily honey veil.

The final is still honeyed with an hint of lemon. Some fresh notes of herbs.

Nice length! Superb :)

The taste is amazing. For me, it's full of mandarins. Gorgeous!

All the notes are quite the same and I find all those things in the dram. Only nobody seams to get that bitter note? I'm quite sensitive against bitterness, I find it back after 4-5 seconds in the mouth and finish. The sweat tinned fruits are lovely, but the biter notes in the end take the dram to a lower level... But still enjoyable most of the times!

I saw this bottling hitting the shelves for 260€ three or four months ago. It's worth that amount of money but NOT the current prices that are much higher.

N: Last time I thought I was trying this TB 40yo, it was in fact the NAS version WB. This is definitely the 40yo, yet ironically it's similarly youthful and fruity - some clever re-cask rejuvenation going on.
T: Sour tasting, the wood pushing proceedings but well within tannic limits. There’s now an exceedingly well balanced, clean, oily and fruity-cereal-oaked journey.
F: Same again, now with a little olive brine. The soft, sour oak comes through firmly but without ever dominating.
C: Now i’ve tried both, the young & old TB share a very similar youthful character though this 40yo is in a different league. Blog

Scores a B+

Too expenisve for what it is, I think people are being ripped off if you go on quality alone.

Yes its 40 years old but it does not matter if the quality is not there and I do not think it is here.

Move over, Mickey!
There was once a lovely little mouse named Timorous Beastie, but now Douglas Laing released the Timorous Beastie 40 Year old, a blended malt with Highland whiskies from the 1970s, including Glen Garioch, Dalmore and Glengoyne, bottled at 54,7%. There are only 1081 bottles around. Well, that’s 1080 for retail and one unique golden bottled that Douglas Laing will give away to a lucky winner that wrote tasting notes from the provided 2cl sample. Undersigned pleads guilty.
Ha, what a fruity nose. Not a fruit bomb per sé, but very close. Lovely tropical notes from papaya and candied oranges, drenched in acacia honey and beeswax, making it wonderfully waxy. Grain cookies on steroids. A truckload of vanilla. Stewed apples sprinkled with cinnamon and a hint of woodsmoke. Menthol for a fresh touch and a broad smile. Grand nose.
It has a great body and is mouth coating. And explosion of honey and vanilla upon arrival is soon followed by a spicy kick with cinnamon in the lead, followed closely by ginger and cloves. Vanilla, sure, but also a fresh leaf of mint. The fruit evolves from oranges to pink grapefruit. Garden herbs? Do I detect a hint of mescal? Sweet, sour, bitter, it has got it all and more.
The finish is long, starting out on candied fruit and ending in a drying leathery death.
Move over, Mickey! You are no longer my favorite mouse! Around 260 EUR for a bottle, which is very fair for this piece of liquid art.