MacNair's @TweetTastings

This week I took part in @TweetTastings's 151st tasting - trying 3 blended drams called MacNair's Lum Reek from @TheGlenAllachie

MacNair's Lum Reek is a range of blended drams that include a vatting of peated Islay, peated Speyside and GlenAllachie's own malts. The name Lum Reek comes from a Scottish colloquialism "Lang may yer lum reek" which roughly translates as "long may your chimney smoke" and is a way to wish someone a long and healthy life!

Billy Walker and his team purchased GlenAllachie in 2017 acquiring the distillery and a number of other brands. One of them was MacNair’s named after Harvey McNair a Victorian entrepreneur, traveller, inventor and distiller who founded a blending company in Glasgow in 1937. Their new MacNair’s Lum Reek range hacks back to that era with the release of a three drams bottled at natural colour, non-chill filtered and 46% ABV and above:

• NAS – 46% whiskies matured in first fill Bourbon, Oloroso, Virgin Oak and Red Wine casks.
• 12yo – 46% whiskies from first fill Bourbon, Red Wine and Pedro Ximenez casks.
• 21yo – 48%  whiskies aged in Oloroso, Virgin Oak and Red Wine casks.  

First up the Lum Reek NAS

MacNair's thoughts: Nose: Crisp peat notes with barley sugar and dark chocolate. Taste: Full bodied peat reek, vanilla, barley sugar and tannins, followed by bog myrtle and sweet spices.

My thoughts: Lovely pale gold in the glass, swirls cling to the glass and give thick slow legs. Initial nose chimney smoke!

Nose: Loads of peat smoke - like a chimney fire  hanging in the air on a still winters day. There's some fruit notes - pineapple and lemon alongside almonds or marzipan.

Palate: Very thick mouthfeel, drying, full of porridge and digestive biscuit notes covered in a thick blanket of smoke. There's a slight sour note - grapefruit maybe and a lovely spicy kick of ginger at the end. Nice!

Finish: a long smoky finish with plenty of that ginger spice.

Other tweeters' thoughts:

Next was the Lum Reek 12yo

MacNair's thoughts: Nose: Sweet peat reek combining with butterscotch and mocha. Taste: Lashings of rich peat reek with mature heather notes, bog myrtle, butterscotch, toffee and sweet spices.

My thoughts: Slightly darker gold than the NAS swirls leave a thin line leading to thin slow legs. Initial nose smoky sherry!

Nose: Much less smoke on the nose than the NAS, the sherry influence comes through more - strawberry jam, butterscotch and pear. There's a milk chocolate note coming through the longer it stays in the glass.

Palate: Not as thick on the tongue as the NAS, much more of the sherry notes here - red fruit, dried fruit, milk chocolate and again a little marzipan note. This is blanketed in a gentle layer of smoke. Nice!

Finish: Much sweeter than the 12yo hardly any spice but still a nice smoky finish.

Other tweeters' thoughts:

Final dram was the Lum Reek 21yo

MacNair's thoughts: Nose: Aristocratic peat smoke with dark chocolate and fudge. Taste: Tobacco, leather, cedar wood and waves of peat reek with oodles of cocoa, vanilla, honey and spices.

My thoughts: Similar gold colour to the 12yo, swirls bead up immediately, slow thin legs. Initial nose spiced pears!

Nose: Poached spiced pears, clove and ginger spice covered in vanilla custard with some dollops of honey. Very little if anything in the way of smoke. Some dried fruit and dark cherry notes develop after a time - complex!

Palate: Again not as thick as the NAS but very smooth, lots of honey and pear from the nose, lots of sweetness but no smoke. The vanilla custard note carries over and there's a drying effect - dark chocolate with a little ginger.

Finish: Finally the smoke comes through! There isn't a lot of it but it puts in an appearance! Gentle ginger spice and sweet honey give a nice medium length finish!

Other tweeters' thoughts:

Final thoughts: