Side by side: A pair of Loch Lomond Swan Neck finishes

@LochLomondMalts single casks bottlings are quite difficult to find, especially in the UK, last year I think we've seen less than five. Thanks to a mate in Germany I've managed to get my hands on another two!

Loch Lomond Swan Neck distilled single casks are even rarer - both of these are Swan Neck Pot Still distillations!

I've talked about Loch Lomond still types a few times - most recently here, so this time we'll just get straight to the whisky!

Let's see how these two taste:

Dram	Single Cask #21/546-5 Bordeaux Red Wine	Single Cask #21/555-8 Oloroso
Characteristics	54.9% ABV, NCF, Natural Colour 9mth finish in 1st fill Bordeaux Red Wine 302 bottles	58.2% ABV, NCF, Natural Colour 9mth finish in 1st fill Oloroso 298 bottles
Distillery notes	#21/546-5 is from a swan neck still, unpeated, distilled 10 Nov '10, filled into 1st fill Bordeaux Red Wine Jul '21 bottled Apr '22 Juicy hints of currant jam and sugared orange peel gradually give way to sweet and spicy layers. Notes of blueberries, red apple and sugared almonds follow these.	#21/555-8 is from a swan neck  still, unpeated, distilled 21 Jul '10, filled into 1st fill Oloroso Jul '21 and bottled Apr '22. Rich layers of toffee give way to subtle notes of apple, cinnamon and clove. There are also hints of roasted brown sugar and fresh oranges
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Reddy gold in the glass - obviously a red wine finished dram - swirls clings as a thin line, take an age to bead up, and eventually fall as slow thin legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls clings as a thin line, take an age to bead up, and eventually fall as slow thin oily legs.
Nose	Forest berries to start, a little citrus and some orchard fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, blueberries - they're all here, a complex nose that time and a little air will reward. There's a little pear, some apple and a hint of clementine.	Toffee, toffee and more toffee! There's dried fruit, cinnamon and a little honey. A little time and air offers brown sugar, stewed apples and a floral note.
Palate	Thick sweet arrival, brown sugar and honey to start, a bite of peppery spice and then a flood of berries. Blueberries are most prominent but there's strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants etc - they are all here! A little note of apricot and marzipan follow leaving a dry nutty taste in the mouth. A little hint of citrus peel as the liquid disappears - yummy!	Again a thick sweet arrival, this is all liquid caramel rather than honey. There's a lovely bite of cinnamon spice but that's about all there is in terms of a Christmas feel. A little walnut, brown sugar and some milk chocolate. There's a little sour citrus note as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Lingering dry peppery spice, berries and marzipan.	Lingering toffee sweetness, a little citrus and some milk chocolate.
Overall	Yes, I love Loch Lomond and I love their single casks, so you don't really need to read this review to tell that I'll like these two drams - but they are really good! Unusual in being swan neck pot still releases rather than straight necked they were for the German market rather than the UK - some on @whiskyashley let us have some over here! I had a real love of wine cask finishes last year and the Bordeaux one here just ticks all of the boxes - berries, sweetness and a little spice. The Oloroso cask, although first fill, seems a little more subdued, I'm not getting huge Christmas cake notes: balsamic vinegar or blueberry jam that I'd expect, rather it's more toffee forward.  If you do come across any Loch Lomond single casks (or Exclusive Casks) let me know so I can dispose of them using my officially sanctioned facilities!

Many thanks to my whisky mule @mentaldrams!

Geeky Bit:

I've called these Single Casks, but as you can see Loch Lomond don't - they call them Exclusive Casks. That's because they are both finished drams - the liquid spending 11 years in a bourbon cask and then 9 months in a wine cask - so that's two different casks. Some distilleries still refer to them a single casks but the SWA guidelines suggest they shouldn't.