Loch Lomond 14yo Fruit & Cinnamon

As part of Loch Lomond's recent packaging revamp, a number of bottles were discontinued and a couple of new ones appeared.

One of the new ones is the Loch Lomond 14yo Fruit & Cinnamon - let's see what it's like.

Loch Lomond added a couple of new bottlings to their recent packaging revamp, I looked at the 12yos here, this time we'll look at the new 14yo Fruit & Cinnamon.

Distillery notes:

This stunning 14 Year Old uses only unpeated spirit from our innovative and unique straight neck pot stills. This delivers the unmistakable fruit character found in Loch Lomond Single Malt. The spirit has been matured in refill American oak casks and finished in French Oak from the Limousin region for up to twelve months. These lightly toasted casks are made especially for Loch Lomond. The Limousin Oak finish is approx 50/50 6 months first fill / 12 months in 2nd fill. 

 

The result is an explosion of flavour with green apple and pear on the nose, sweet toffee and vanilla fudge mixed with grapefruit citrus on the palate leading to an amazing depth of warming spice, clove and aniseed on the finish. Bottled under the watchful eye of Michael Henry, our master blender, at 46% and non chill filtered keeps things as nature intended. 

 

Nose: Coconut, green apple and pear, cinnamon and clove spice, lemon.

Palate: Sweet toffee and vanilla fudge, grapefruit citrus, pineapple, toasted oak.

Finish: Long with warming oak spice of clove and aniseed.

My thoughts:

Appearance: 46% ABV, NCF, Natural colour, mid gold in the glass, swirls cling, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.

Nose: Toasted coconut mushrooms (you remember them from when you were a kid surely?) stewed orchard fruit and a hint of peppery spice. A little air offers some citrus peel notes along with that hint of toast or smoke.

Palate: Very smooth sweet creamy arrival, loads of typical Inchmurrin (I've got to stop using that word) notes: toffee apples, peaches, sweetened stewed pears, digestive biscuits and oaky vanilla. As the liquid disappears the spices really come into their own - cinnamon and nutmeg biting at the tongue leaving a citrus fizz. Nice! A little time and air offer liquorice and bitter dark chocolate notes.

Finish: Lingering spiced apples, a hint of smoke and some tropical fruit.

Thoughts: Coming from unpeated barley distilled in straight necked pot stills with a high collection strength this would have been called an Inchmurrin in a past life - the Fruity and Sweet in the new range. But with the spicy kick from the French Limousin Oak finish this whisky is  similar to an SMWS release: the 2004 15yo 112.53 "Sophisticated seductive Sazerac cocktail" which also balances fruit notes with spice and bitter citrus.

For all this is distilled from unpeated barley there is a definite smoke note - probably from the toasted casks it's been maturing in. A lovely dram, slightly older than the core range and definitely worth hunting out. YUMMY!

 

Matured in lightly toasted Limousin casks from Bordeaux. Photo: Scott Dickson

BTW: Had anyone else noticed that the Loch Lomond logo had lost it's crown? Well it certainly hasn't lost it's touch in creating great whisky!

Old logo

New logo