Douglas Laing Intro Tasting | Belfast Whiskey Week 2021

Name: Belfast Whiskey Week 2026
Start: 2026-07-24
End: 2026-08-01
Location: Belfast

Filed: 24 Jul 2021
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 3 min
Ref: BWW/21/508

When Belfast Whiskey Week 2021 turned its gaze across the sheugh to Scotland, it did so in fine style. Session 16 brought independent bottling royalty to the virtual tasting table in the form of Douglas Laing, a name that has been hunting down exceptional Scotch whisky casks since 1948. Three drams, one evening, and a family story worth knowing — this introductory session set the tone for what Douglas Laing does best.

About This Event

This tasting includes 3 x 50ml Samples & Glass and will take place on the 24th @ 18:00.

This tasting will comprise of:

Timorous Beastie
Scallywag
Big Peat

For those in the USA, Australia, Sweden, Europe, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, you will be able to save on delivery costs by having your package to sent to a localised depot for collection. You will be charged a small fee upon collection, but the cost will be much cheaper than having packs delivered to individual addresses. If you would like to avail of this option, please make a note in the Special Instructions box, and we will contact you at a later date to arrange this and refund your delivery charges.

Looking Back

There's a particular pleasure in being introduced to a distiller — or in Douglas Laing's case, an independent bottler — with proper care and intent. Session 16, held on the evening of 24th July 2021, did exactly that. Ticketed at a very fair £15, it arrived as three 50ml samples and a glass: a wee flight that punched well above its modest price. The line-up was, in hindsight, a masterstroke of curation — Timorous Beastie, Scallywag, and Big Peat, each one a flagship from Douglas Laing's Remarkable Regional Malts range, and each one a distinct personality.

Timorous Beastie opened the proceedings as a Highland blended malt — rich, honeyed, and rooted in the couthie heart of Scotland's north. Scallywag followed with its Speyside charm, a sherried sweetness that carried the warmth of a well-tended fire. Then came Big Peat: Islay's answer to anyone who thinks Scotch whisky is polite. Smoky, coastal, and entirely unapologetic, it reminded the room — scattered as it was across Belfast, the Republic, and far beyond — that uisce beatha has many dialects. Douglas Laing is a family-run operation and that duchas, that sense of inherited knowledge and genuine passion, comes through in every expression they bottle.

The beauty of an introductory session like this one lay not just in the whisky itself but in the map it drew. Attendees who came in knowing little about independent bottling left with a clear sense of what Douglas Laing stands for: quality cask selection, regional distinctiveness, and a refusal to take shortcuts. For those who found the format a little too brief — and many did — the full Douglas Laing collection was there to continue the education at one's own pace.

It was also worth noting how well this session sat within the broader BWW 2021 programme. While Session 16 kept its focus firmly on Scotland, the festival as a whole was a celebration of the island of Ireland's whiskey heritage too. Those curious about how a single week could hold so much ground might have found their bearings on the Whiskey Map, which charted the full scope of distilleries and brands represented across the event. And for those who followed Session 16 with an appetite for something closer to home, Session 83's deep dive into Bushmills history offered a compelling companion piece — the old North Antrim distillery providing a useful mirror to Douglas Laing's own long family legacy.

Session 16 was exactly what a good introduction should be: unpretentious, generous in spirit, and quietly confident in its subject matter. Sláinte mhaith to Douglas Laing for bringing that independent Scottish bottling excellence to Belfast's biggest whiskey week, and to the attendees who showed up with an open glass and an open mind.

The Brand: Douglas Laing

Family-run since 1948, Douglas Laing hunts down exceptional Scotch whisky casks. Their Remarkable Regional Malts range covers Scotland with real depth.