Loch Lomond - Swedish Exclusives

Even for a fanboy like myself it can be difficult to get hold of some Loch Lomond releases, especially when they are non-UK exclusives.

Thanks to friends around the world I can sometimes get hold of some unusual bottlings! This time they are from Sweden!

In Sweden, the sale of spirits (alcoholic beverages containing more than 3.5% alcohol by volume) is primarily controlled by Systembolaget (the System Company), a government-owned retail monopoly. This means that outside of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, Systembolaget stores are the only places where spirits can be purchased. Systembolaget also acts as a portal for private companies selling alcohol on the Swedish market. 

A little Wikipedia history:

In 1766 the Swedish king, Adolf Frederick, decided, after several unsuccessful attempts at regulating alcohol consumption, to abolish all restrictions. This led to virtually every household making and selling alcohol.

At the turn of the 19th century, alcohol was highly popular among Swedes. An estimated 175,000 home distilleries had developed by this time, using tremendous amounts of grain and potatoes that otherwise would have been consumed as food to manufacture alcohol. It was later said that most men in Sweden abused alcohol. Women rarely drank alcohol, since it was considered inappropriate.

In 1830, the first moderate drinking society was started in Stockholm. In 1837, the Svenska Sällskapet för Nykterhet och Folkbildning (The Swedish Society for Temperance and Public Education) was founded as the country's first fully-fledged temperance organization. It was immediately promoted by the King, and quickly grew to 10,000 members with local chapters around the country. In 1850, the state began to regulate alcohol. 

In 1860, a bar was opened in Gothenburg where the state had handpicked the employees and decided how the bar should be run; antisocial and or intoxicated people were to be excluded. This was where people both bought and drank their alcohol, and this subsequently became the foundation for the Gothenburg Public House System used in Norway, Finland and the UK. Similar state-regulated bars and stores began to open in other towns across the country, and they were hugely successful. Originally the profits were kept privately by the owners, but in 1870 it was decided that all profits should go to the state.

During the First World War, alcohol was strictly rationed. Thus, the state bars and stores started registering purchases. People were allowed only two litres of liquor every three months, and beer above 3.6% ABV was banned. After the war, the rationing continued, using the Bratt System of a household ration book called a motbok. Gender, income, wealth and social status decided how much alcohol one was allowed to buy. Unemployed people and welfare recipients were not allowed to buy any alcohol at all, while as the motbok was issued by household instead of per person, it meant that wives had to share their household allowance with their husbands and in effect got nothing at all. In 1917, Aktiebolaget Spritcentralen (now V&S Group) was formed to take over all wholesale distribution of alcohol. A referendum on prohibition in 1922 advised government not to issue total prohibition. The rationing system was very unpopular. When even the temperance movement protested against it (they felt it encouraged consumption), the government decided a new policy was needed.

In 1955, all regional alcohol monopolies (Systemaktiebolaget) were merged into the present-day Systembolaget enterprise, and the above-mentioned rationing system was abolished, so people were allowed to start buying as much alcohol as they wanted from Systembolaget stores (as long as they are sober, over 21 and not suspected of buying for later private resale). This led to increased consumption, so the government increased taxes heavily and made it compulsory that everyone had to show ID to get served. There was also an age limit of 21, which in 1969 was lowered to 20. In 1965, it became legal for privately run stores to sell beer up to 4.5% with an age limit of 18. 12 years later, after alcohol consumption – especially that of light beers (mellanöl) – rose dramatically, the limit was lowered to 3.5%.

OK then, let's try some of these Swedish exclusives!

Dram	Inchmurrin	Madeira Cask	Peated Rioja
Characteristics	NAS 40% ABV c£25	NAS 40% ABV c£25	NAS 40% ABV c£25
Distillery notes	Nuanced flavour with barrel character, hints of yellow pears, honey, spices, apples, apricot jam and vanilla.	Nuanced aroma and taste with barrel character, hints of dried apricots, honey, yellow pears, nuts, vanilla, herbs and orange.	Nuanced, smoky flavour with barrel character, hints of honey, red berries, straw, bitter orange, dried fruit, tar and vanilla.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Coloured mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up immediately and fall as quick thin lines.	Coloured mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up immediately and fall as quick thin lines.	Coloured mid gold (a hint of pink?) in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up immediately and fall as quick thin lines.
Nose	Typical Inchmurrin orchard fruit notes: apples, pears, apricots and a lovely icing sugar note. There's a little vanilla, honey and toasted coconut.	Berries and cherries mixed with some tropical fruit: pineapple and kiwi. A little honey, hazelnut and spice. There's a strange metallic note on this one too.	Huge peat smoke notes to start, some berries, a little salinity. Orchard fruit notes, a little brown sugar and vanilla.
Palate	Thin and watery as expected but mouthcoating. Honey and orchard fruit to the fore, a little milk chocolate and cinnamon spice.	A little thin, sweet arrival: honey, berries and dried fruit. Some gentle spice and tropical fruit notes as the liquid disappears.	Brown sugar, berry jam, vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate. Juicy but a little drying, some cinnamon spice and then a load of smoke as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Short and spicy - cinnamon and a little orchard fruit.	Long tropical fruit berry and gentle spice notes.	Lingering spice, berries and smoke.

Dram	Heavily Peated	Remarkable Ingenuity (GTR - not Sweden Exclusive) Swedish Oak	Single Cask #23/709-2 The Spirits News
Characteristics	NAS 40% ABV c£25	13yo 47.3% ABV £65	12yo 56.9% ABV c£77
Distillery notes	Flavourful whiskey with barrel character and noticeable smokiness, hints of apricot jam, orange, cinnamon, vanilla fudge, nougat, tar and butterscotch.	Using the spirits from both Straight & Swan Neck stills. A signature style with added depth of earthy spice notes. Matured in bourbon casks finished in Swedish Oak Casks which adds a peppery and nutmeg influence.	11m FF Oloroso HHD Finish
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Coloured mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up immediately and fall as quick thin lines.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line which takes an age to bead up before falling as slow thin lines.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line which bead up and then take an age to fall as slow thin lines.
Nose	Sweet peat, tropical fruit and a little salinity. There's smoky bacon crisps, dried pineapple chunks and some pine needle notes.	A little floral to start, lots of toffee, some orchard fruit, honey and vanilla. Time and air offers orange zest, stewed pears and vanilla fudge.	Orchard fruit, honey, rum and raisin ice cream. There's a hint of smoke and a some berry notes. Lots of vanilla and gentle spice.
Palate	Thin sweet arrival, honey and toffee. There's a salinity like beach pebbles, dry smoke, chocolate and a gentle ginger spice.	Thick mouthcoating arrival, toffee, honey, liquorice and a little milk chocolate. There's a gentle spice, a little salinity and some orange zest. An interesting mint note as the liquid disappears.	Thick sweet arrival, lots of berry jam, ginger spice and sherry soaked dried fruit. A little liquorice, milk chocolate raisins, almonds and a lovely glacier cherry note.
Finish	Short dry spice, a little tropical fruit and smoke.	Lingering honey, ginger spice and salinity.	Lingering honey, dried fruit and ginger spice.

Overall

The first four of these drams have been produced to a price, around £25, making them what we'd call supermarket bottles in the UK. Coloured and chill-filtered and really not a patch on the 46% ABV equivalents: Inchmurrin 12yo, Madeira 12yo (no longer available), 2023 Open Special Edition & Inchmoan 12yo. The Travel Exclusive Remarkable Ingenuity was a huge step up from the first 4, the Swedish Oak finish adding some gentle spice and mint notes. The single cask topped them all, berry, sherry and cherry notes coming to the fore! So whilst the 40%ers let things down a bit, I guess they are produced to to a price, the higher or cask strength releases allow the LL spirit to shine through!