Douglas Laing unveils 20yo blend in Yula range

Scotch whisky bottler Douglas Laing has launched a new limited edition range of blended Islay Scotch whiskies that pays homage to the legend of a Norse goddess.

Yula 20-year-old is the first release in Douglas Laing’s collection of whiskies inspired by a Norse goddess

The collection, called Yula, will be released as trilogy inspired by the story of a beautiful goddess who went searching for a lost love with an apron full of stones. The stones fell out of her apron, forming the Scottish isles, and Yula eventually perished on the seas surrounding Islay – the last stone to fall.

Yula 20-year-old is the first of the trio, which will be launched consecutively as limited editions.

Bottled at a cask strength of 52.6% abv, the first Yula bottling is said to have a flavour of sweet barley, peat smoke, charred wood, chimney soot and butterscotch sweetness.

“This exciting trilogy of Island Malts tells a tale both in terms of the ancient legend of Yula but importantly also the spirit story,” said Cara Laing, director of whisky at Douglas Laing.

“Distilled in 1995, we’ll see this cask strength maritime malt evolve with each annual release while retaining that distinct oceanic, island character. In Yula, we believe we’ve combined two of life’s greatest pleasures – a charming tale and a great whisky.”

Just 900 bottles of Yula 20-year-old will be available from this month.

In January this year, Douglas Laing release Rock Oyster – a blend created using “maritime malts” from islands such as Jura, Islay, Arran and Orkney.