Origin: Highlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 52.3%ABV
Ageing cask: Finished in ex-Sherry Amontillado first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Dram Mor Group
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: drammorgroup.com
Vote: 88/100
With this scorching summer that never seems to let up, what could be better than a bit of dank, smoky peat to cool off our taste buds?
Here’s another single cask from the peated version of Loch Lomond, part of the Scottish bottler’s summer releases, with no less than five years of finishing in ex-Sherry Amontillado casks that produced 202 cask strength bottles, one year’s older sibling to the one released in spring 2021.
Tasting notes
Rather than smoke, we are on the side of soil in the olfactory impressions, a very mineral peat in which the burnt component reveals itself in depth, penetrating a blanket of dried grass and macerated fruit (maracuja, apricot, currant, wild strawberry), toasted almonds, pine nuts and a very faint balsamic note, intertwined with flashes of lemon. Intriguing.
The smoke takes shape on the palate, welcoming the accompanying flavours in its embrace, with the return of macerated fruit along with prunes, rhubarb, almonds, a touch of herbs and smoked vegetables. Pepper and a touch of ginger tease the mouth, while tobacco and leather caress its walls in a rich and ever-moving whole, without any of the participants ever gaining the upper hand.
The finish is quite long and slightly bitter, with the smoke intruding vegetable notes, nuts, tobacco and a balsamic afflatus.
A hyperactive and dynamic dram, which entertains with class and elegance by playing on several levels, managing to flesh out a peat that could intrigue more than one enthusiast looking for alternatives to the island variations. Excellent work.