Lochside 21 Year (1979) Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Review by: The Muskox

Onto dram number four of my crazy whisky week, following from that Linlithgow, the ’66 Jura, and the Clynelish Ainslie & Heilbron. This will be my second Lochside, following a Gordon & MacPhail bottling that I tried a couple years ago. That one was weird, but tropical and tasty. Will this one be similar?

Distillery: Lochside.

Bottler: Douglas Laing.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 50%.

Age: 21 years. Distilled in May 1979. Bottled in June 2000.

Cask type: “Oak cask”.

Price: N/A. $55 CAD for a pour at the bar.

Color: Pale gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Complex. Bright and intense tropical fruit, first and foremost. Lime candies, papaya, kiwi and crystallized ginger. Fragrant lavender and coconut water. Tonic!- effervescence and quinine. Slightly nutty, too – flax seeds and a kind of aged-basmati earthiness. Some black pepper.

Palate: Medium weight, with a waxy texture. And a waxy flavour! Arrives sweet – blueberry pie a la mode. Sweet coconut and white tea. Develops to paraffin wax, rich malt, coconut, mild oak and black pepper. More tropical freshness on the back end – pineapple and (non-soapy) cilantro.

Finish: Gentle, but long, with even more tropical fruit. Pineapple, papaya, and guava. Macadamia nuts and marshmallow Peeps. Vanilla bean. Black pepper and a hint of salt. Hay.  

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Bizarre souvenirs from the beach club gift shop”

Conclusion: Extremely tasty. Amazing fragrance and freshness, and so much tropical fruit. Great complexity as well. It tasted way weirder than my notes suggest… in a way that I can’t describe very well, evidently. In a good way, of course.

I thought this was nearly as good as the Linlithgow. My man Sam thought that this was even better than the Linlithgow. The only thing left to do after drinking something like this is… call it a night and go get a burrito.

Final Score: 92.

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.

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