Loch Lomond Cooper's Collection 2024

@LochLomondMalts release an annual Cooper's Collection Single Grain made from 100% barley through their copper continuous column stills.

Photo: whisky.com.gr

Let's try the 2024 release...

I've written about Loch Lomond's 100% malted barley single grains before here and a Single Cask version here. 

Last year Loch Lomond released the first in the Cooper's Collection series and an older special edition Distiller's Choice Mizunara cask finished bottling which I reviewed here!

For 2024 they've released a Virgin Spanish Oak finished bottling:

Distillery information:

Our Coopers Collection edition is distilled using only 100% malted barley in our bespoke all copper construction, Continuous “Coffey” still. Michael has carefully selected some of our older whiskies which have been matured in first fill American Oak casks. Then working with our dedicated team of Coopers has finished them in the finest hand-crafted Spanish oak casks to produce a unique and complex whisky.

Only 9,000 bottles produced of this limited annual expression.

Bottled at 50% non-chill filtered and at natural colour, just as nature intended.

Nose: Floral notes, ripe berries and toasted oak

Taste: Sweet spice character with creamy vanilla, honey and clove spice

Finish: A medium finish with warming oak and clove

My thoughts:

Appearance: dark gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line, take an age to bead up before falling as slow thin legs.

Nose: berries and cherries to start, some honey, blueberry jam and a hint of spice. There's some floral notes here: forest floor after some rain with a little citrus hint.

Palate: thick sweet arrival: honey and brown sugar slightly drying. The berries from the nose are back along with some plum and apricot. Vanilla ice cream and chocolate sprinkles join a clove spice as the liquid disappears.

Finish: long sweet and spicy, with cloves and berries.

Overall: The tin mentions older whiskies so I'm assuming around 7 year old as per last year's release verses 4-5 for the core single grain releases but there's no youth notes to be identified here. It's an easy sipping whisky with a lovely fruit and spice complexity which never suggest 50% ABV - dangerously drinkable. There's been a 3 fold increase in bottles over last year's Mizunara cask finish bottling so it should be around for a while exclusively from the distillery website.

The Loch Lomond Cooperage was opened in 1994. Loch Lomond employs 10 Coopers with many years’ experience working for the company. Each new cooper spends 4 years learning the craft before becoming a fully-fledged cooper. The apprentices at Loch Lomond are trained on site in the art of coopering the barrels using hand tools.