Review by: dustbunna
This is my first Loch Lomond and something of a weird bird, even for this weird-bird distillery with its multiple levels of peating, multiple types of stills, and multiple mashbills (among Scottish distilleries, only they and Girvan have the ability to make malt and grain whisky at the same site.) The label states that this Single Grain is, confusingly, distilled from 100% malted barley. Loch Lomond is not allowed to call it “single malt” because the SWA requires single malt Scotch to be distilled in pot stills– they make this whisky by distilling the malted barley through a small Coffey still. I added this bottle to an order from overseas on a whim, since the price was only $27 and Loch Lomond is not imported to my state.
Side note: I get annoyed when I have a totally opaque bottle (like this one) and can’t tell where I am in the bottle except by feel. If anyone else feels the same, and you don’t care about vandalizing your bottles, here’s a tip: often that cladding comes off, so you can use a pair of old scissors or a similar blade and scrape down the side of the bottle, then do the same 180 degrees around, on the opposite side. Look through the gaps and you can easily track where the fill level is.
Distillery: Loch Lomond.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 46%.
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2017.
Cask type: Presumed first-fill and refill ex-bourbon.
Price: $27 USD.
No info on color or chill-filtration.
Bottle open across approx. 3 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: Fruit Stripe gum, wood varnish, banana Laffy Taffy, tropical potpourri, peach yogurt, pencil shavings, turns a bit more fruity.
Palate: medium-thin but creamy ~ strong bubblegum, apricot candy, more tropical potpourri, vanilla, cream, sawdust, more pencil shavings.
Finish: medium-short ~ a bit of ethanol bite followed by more sawdust, pepper, a wave of fresh apricots and nectarines, goes a bit sour, vanilla sugar on the tail end, chocolate gelt coins, apricots linger a bit longer, fresh spearmint, mint takes over with some vaguely floral notes in the background.
Conclusion: Whoa, this is really fresh and bizarre! Delicious, engaging, somewhat flawed. I bet this style of whisky aged 12-15 years would be extremely interesting. This started out fruitier with some Laddie-esque lactic notes and then shifted over time more toward more wood/pencil shavings with a veneer of chocolate/vanilla. All of these notes feel a bit on the artificial side (the fresh apricot/nectarine notes were exceptions, and it’s awesome to encounter them so clearly.) I did try this with water, which just seems to flatten everything out. Probably not a repeat buy, especially since there are so many Loch Lomonds out there to try, but I’m certainly interested in exploring more of them.
Final Score: 77.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 