Loch Lomond Distillery Edition Two

Following on from the first release in November @LochLomondMalts have released the second in their Distillery Edition series. 

This release is a Single Distillery Peated Blend so a mix of malt and grain whisky from the same distillery.

Not having a Visitor's Centre means you can only buy this bottle from their website.

As I'm sure you know Loch Lomond distil three different types of whisky at their distillery in Alexandria: on the malt side of the distillery malt whisky is distilled in pot stills (swan neck and straight neck) and grain whisky using 100% malted barley in a continuous coffey still where the spirit is taken off the still at 85% ABV. On the grain side of the distillery grain whisky is distilled using wheat in their continuous coffey stills.

This release is a Single Blend so a mix of malt and grain whisky from the same distillery - in this case they are both from the malt side of the distillery so using 100% malted barley. Michael Henry shared the exact mix:

40% 5yo single grain coffey still using 50ppm phenol malted barley in Mar '17 and matured in a 2nd fill bourbon barrel

20% 9yo single grain coffey still using 50ppm phenol malted barley in Apr '13 and matured in a 2nd fill bourbon barrel

20% 13yo single grain coffey still using 50ppm phenol malted barley in May '09 and matured in a 1st fill bourbon barrel

20% 7yo single malt straight neck pot still, wide spirit cut, using 50ppm phenol malted barley distilled in Mar '15 and matured in a 1st fill bourbon barrel

So the whisky is from 100% malted barley - a singe malt you'd think but because of the use of the coffey still SWA rules say it has to be labelled a blend.

Loch Lomond say:

"Our Distillery Editions celebrate our distillery’s innovation and whisky-making ability. Our second edition is a peated Blended Scotch whisky, produced using grain and malt from only Loch Lomond Distillery. 

Created using a combination of heavily peated single malt that has been distilled in our unique Straight Neck stills and single grain which has been made exclusively from 100% heavily peated malted barley in our Coffey still. The result is a remarkable peated blended whisky with dry wood smoke, toasted coconut and melted brown sugar."

One of my favourite Loch Lomond drams was a single cask peated single grain bottled for Southport Whisky Club. Cask #730 was a 4yo single grain distilled in a coffey still using 50ppm phenol malted barley in Apr '17 and matured in a 2nd fill bourbon barrel. On paper this looks like a similar but older dram. Let's see!

Bottler thoughts:

5yo Single Distillery Blend distilled 2017, bottled 2023, 300 bottles

The Distillery Edition Series is a concept developed and crafted by our Master Distiller, Michael Henry. This series celebrates our distillery’s commitment to innovation and showcases our whisky-making ability and capability to produce flavour like no one else.   This online exclusive whisky has been matured in first fill and second fill American Oak casks. The single malt used is heavily peated spirit from our unique Straight Neck stills, taken at a low collection strength and the grain has been made exclusively from 100% malted barley in our Coffey still. The lower collection strength extracts more phenols from the peat, and emphasises more of the medicinal and smoke character of the whisky, whilst adding apple and citrus fruit notes.   Bottled at cask strength of 57.7%, non-chill filtered with natural colour, to keep things as nature intended.

Nose: Sweetly phenolic, iodine, dry wood smoke, tangy blackberry & toasted coconut

Taste: Soft smoke & charred oak, red apple, clove and aniseed with melted brown sugar

Finish: Medium in length with dry, waxy peat and clove spice

My thoughts:

Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls leave thin lines which bead up quickly, hang for a while and eventually fall as slow thin oily legs.

Nose: Gentle wood smoke to start, vanilla, hedgerow berries and fresh orchard fruit. A hint of black pepper and nutmeg.

Palate: Thick sweet arrival: honey and brown sugar; which immediately turns dry and spicy. Juicy orchard fruit: pears, apples and apricots; linger on the tongue before medicinal peat smoke and smoky bacon crisps covers everything.

 

Finish: Lingering dry medicinal peat smoke, peppery spice and a hint of berry jam.

Summary: Whilst this did remind me a lot of the Peated Single Grain Single Cask #730 it had a  little less roughness that comes from aged stock. There was a lot more complexity being a blend and having some malt in the mix. It shows the variety and range of whiskies that Loch Lomond can create. Yummy!

Geeky Bit:

There aren't many distilleries capable of making a Single Blend, I can only think of five: Loch Lomond, Kininvie, InchDairnie, Ailsa Bay and Borders; and so far I think only Loch Lomond, Kininvie and Borders have. Loch Lomond's is this 100% Malted Barley bottling, Kininvie released a Malt & Rye Blend in 2019 and Borders' was a Malt & Rye Blend.