Review by: The Muskox
Another blind from Baldric, the second in this set of four mysteries. After the Nc’nean the other day, and one second of nosing this whisky, I think I have the theme of this set figured out. I’ll be crossing more new distilleries off my list!
Lochlea is an independent distillery located in Ayrshire in the lowlands. They like to remind everyone that Robert Burns himself once lived in the area, and emphasize their traceability and farm-to-bottle process. They’ve also managed to poach longtime Laphroaig man John Campbell for their distillery manager, which says something. Stylistically, Lochlea seems to be one of these very new-school distilleries, with clear wort, extra-long fermentation, and a very estery, fruity, spirit. Let’s give it a try.
As per my blind review policy, my notes, thoughts, and score are all locked-in before the reveal. I didn’t know what was in my glass, other than that it was probably some kind of whisky.
Distillery: Lochlea.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Lowlands.
ABV: 46%.
Age: 3 years. Bottled in 2021.
Cask type: Matured in a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon casks and first-fill PX sherry casks.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Light gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Aha, another young malt. Plenty of green notes, literally and figuratively. Fruity – green apple, lime zest, banana, underripe peach, maybe some cranberry (very holidays!). A fair amount of black pepper and perhaps a hint of smoke. Some sappy wood and wood glue. Sort of a nutty seed-bread kind of vibe.
Palate: Medium-thin texture. Very fruity on the arrival, with more of those fragile youthful notes. Fairly perfumed. Buttery and ginger-spicy on the development, with green barley and more of that nuttiness. Panettone? Maybe I’m just thinking that because it’s just Christmas. Lemon and grapefruit peels with some pith attached.
Finish: Medium-short. More green barley, booze-soaked fruitcake fruits, grapefruit, and some blackberries. A little buttery richness. Panettone again. Slightly flat, turning to a bit of a candy sweetness.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Woodshop Christmas breakfast”
Conclusion: Not too bad! I like the buttery notes, but the youth really makes itself known with that heat, sappiness, and green barley note throughout, especially on the finish. That combined with the lackluster finish probably pulls this down below the Nc’nean for me. This doesn’t feel quites as well-baked.
Ok, so which young new distilleries haven’t I tried yet? There are all those new Lowlanders like Annandale, Holyrood, Eden Mill, Borders, Clydeside, Glasgow, and Inchdairnie that I simply know nothing about. (Well, from what I hear, maybe this is too tasty to be Annandale…) Of the distilleries I have tried, I can say that this definitely isn’t Raasay, Ardnamurchan, or Dornoch (lol). Could it be a younger-ish Daftmill? That’d actually fit my notes quite well, but I’ve poured a little of one of my Daftmill samples (2006 Summer Batch) and it has a different level of fragrance and oiliness compared to the mystery whisky, not to mention that it doesn’t taste nearly as young. So maybe not. Given the level of fruit and sweetness, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was another Jim Swan special. I know you’ve got a pile of Eden Mills, so maybe it’s one of those. (To cover all the bases, I’ll say that Wolfburn Aurora also seems to match my notes well, I just think this is more likely to be a Lowland.)
Guess: Single malt, Lowlands, unpeated, 3-8 years old, 46%, STR cask.
Shot in the dark: Eden Mill hip flask?
Final Score: 73.
Post-reveal thoughts: Interesting! I could certainly detect that new-school profile here. It’ll be interesting to see how that crop of distilleries ages. Bourbon + PX makes sense too – I was initially thinking there’s a mix of casks here, but since I was guessing an Eden Mill hip flask, I needed to find a single cask type that had those notes and STR seemed closest. The Nc’nean from the other day was better, but it remains to be seen how the two spirits will compare as they age.
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 