Scotland Travelogue: May 19th (Day 3, Part 2)

Continuing from the previous part. From there, I traveled to Glasgow to visit Hunter Laing and Douglas Laing bottlers. Although I had been to Glasgow before, it still felt overwhelmingly urban. The Hunter Laing office was an extremely luxurious space that left me in awe. I tasted approximately 15 samples while chatting with Mr. Stewart Laing, Mr. Scott Laing, and others. Reflecting recent bottler trends, younger whiskies were the main focus, but they had a wide range of cask specifications, including some exceptional ones that left everyone impressed. I realized that bottlers who own casks directly at distilleries, like Hunter Laing, are indeed different from major bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenhead, and Signatory, who purchase from brokers. Hunter Laing reportedly owns over 4,000 casks, and a room in their office was filled with numerous samples. I received a sample of Port Ellen 1982, which was honestly delicious. I also learned about plans for a new distillery on Islay and received a half-bottle as a souvenir, making it an incredibly thorough experience. After saying goodbye to the Laing family, I immediately moved to Douglas Laing's nearby office. Mr. Fred Laing was absent, but Mr. Chris from the Commercial Director handled my visit. I tasted around 15 samples, but again there were many younger whiskies, with this trend being even more pronounced than at Hunter Laing. However, there were also some unique proposals that differed from previous bottlers. Some blind tastings revealed exceptional casks that surprisingly exceeded the distillery's image, offering promising new options. Additionally, although not filled in a hoop, I was allowed to taste a 76 Port Ellen sherry cask as a memento, which was remarkably outstanding. With my duties for the day complete, I left Glasgow and headed to my accommodation in Seil. Driving approximately one hour through light rain, I arrived at the Seilmill Hydro Hotel, facing the west coast of Roan. It was an amazing hotel for its low price. I enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner, and after the meal, I tasted GM cask samples that had been previously visited by my advance team. Given their bottling history from last year, there were clearly many excellent casks, and I was very satisfied. The biggest player is indeed formidable. I fell asleep while drinking that day. Someone played a prank on me while I was sleeping, taking photos that I couldn't show - an embarrassing moment.