Origin: Highlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Loch Lomond Distillers (Hillouse Capital Group)
Average price: € 30.00
Official website: www.lochlomondwhiskies.com
Vote: 83/100
Loch Lomond is one of the few distilleries in Scotland to have great versatility thanks to the classic copper stills for discontinuous distillation flanked by column stills (the so-called Coffey) for continuous distillation, allowing them to produce practically all styles of Scotch whisky.
If with the term single grain we are used to thinking of whiskies produced from grains other than malted barley, in this bottling things are a little different: the basic raw material is the classic malted barley of single malts, but being distilled with Coffey stills, according to Scottish specifications it has to be defined as single grain.
It was initially joined by an edition made from organically grown barley, while in its current guise it has been part of the core range since 2016 along with the peated version.
I am very curious to try this alternative version of a single malt.
Tasting notes
On the nose, the first impression is that of a single grain, with its charge of acetone and cereals, but soon evocations of vanilla, marzipan, fruit (pineapple, mango, pear, lemon), nutmeg, sugar paste and bread crust creep in. Over time it expresses a pastry side, with hints of lemon tart, showing decidedly more substance even if depth remains minimal.
On the palate, it begins with spices (ginger, nutmeg, a touch of aniseed) that mark a fairly mellow drink, in which it is the fruit that drives the flavours, tropical with citrus nuances and a good dose of pear, accompanied by notes of custard, marzipan, vegetable veins and a slight whiff of burnt wood.
Quite long finish where the citrus and vegetable notes are accentuated with hints of spice, malt, bread crust and a slight roastiness.
The dram did not disappoint expectations, a single grain with more structure and body than other cereal compositions, despite its simplicity it manages to express a good personality and give a different but still good drinking experience compared to single malts.