Loch Lomond Distillery Edition Ten

@LochLomondMalts recently released the tenth in their Distillery Edition series going down a new path - a highly peated release.

This time it's a 8yo, let's try it!

This release is all about the peat:

"Named “Phenol-menon” by the team here at the distillery, this Distillery Edition 10 Single Malt showcases Loch Lomond’s innovation in flavour creation — shaped in distillation through our Straight-Neck stills. Master Blender Michael Henry has mapped the spectrum of phenols and the flavour profiles they create on the back of the bottle, to show how peat can move beyond “just smoke” into a wider range of savoury, fruity and spiced character."

50ppm barley was used to make the whisky with a resultant spirit PPM of just under 36. Michael Henry has kindly broken down the Phenol content on the back of the bottle:

Distillery thoughts:

Made with heavily peated malted barley (50ppm), this spirit is taken from the wide cut and matured for 8 years in refill American Oak casks. On the nose, savoury smoke leads with smoked bacon with a bright lift of pineapple. On the palate, sweet medicinal peat meets orchard fruits drawn from our Straight-Neck distillation, with gentle honeyed cinnamon spice building in the background. The finish is beautifully long, with swirling peat smoke and delicate spice that linger long after the last sip.

Nose: Smoked bacon, pineapple, soft medicinal notes, light oak, gentle sweetness

Taste: Sweet medicinal character, orchard fruits, honeyed cinnamon spice, subtle vanilla

Finish: Long with swirling smoke and delicate spice

My thoughts:

Appearance: Mid gold in the Glencairn, swirls leave thin lines which bead up slowly and fall as slow thin legs. 

                               

Nose: Huge peat smoke notes as expected but there's some tropical fruit, honey  and walnut notes here too. A little time and air offers salinity, grilled fish and a hint of sour citrus.

Palate: Thick fruity arrival: you get a hint of orchard or is it tropical fruit and then the smoke covers everything. With each sip a little more is revealed before the smoke takes over: pears, smoke, apples, smoke, pineapple, smoke, blackberries, smoke... and on it continues. 

 

Finish: Lingering smoke spice, peaches and a little peppery spice.

Summary: Here we are a few months after release and I think I've had 5 drams from the bottle, my dislike of peaty, smoky drams as I get older has taken over. The science behind this one is great for us geeks but at the end of the day it's about the liquid and I'm struggling. It's not just this bottling, I've struggled with the Glasgow 1770 8yo bourbon and an Ardmore from Brave New Spirits. It will sit on the shelf for another couple of months and I'll try it again - hopefully I'll get my smoke buds back soon?

 

Loch Lomond Distillery Editions:

Edn	Released	Year	Age	Name	Information	ABV	Price
10	Oct '25	2017	7	Phenol-menon	50PPM	57%	£65
9	Oct '25	2015	10	Summer Shutdown	2-3 week fermentation, Glen Douglas spirit - 3 cask vatting.	56.3%	£65
8	Apr '25	2010	15	High, Narrow & Handsome	Rhosdu spirit - 3 cask vatting.	56.4%	£55
7	Nov '24	2012	12	Tropical Refill	Glen Douglas spirit, Chardonnay Wine Yeast fermentation - 3 cask vatting	55.7%	£70
6	Sep '24	2016	8	Single Distillery Unpeated Blend	80% Rhosdu & 20% Glen Douglas spirit - vatting	56.9%	£50
5	Apr '24	2015	8	Orchard & Vineyard	Inchmurrin spirit, Chardonnay Wine Yeast fermentation - 3 cask vatting	59.1%	£57
4	Nov '23	2016	7	Supercharged Floral & Tropical Fruits	Rhosdu spirit - 3 cask vatting married for a month in wood	58.9%	£45
3	Jul '23	2012	10	Extra Long fermentation	Glen Douglas spirit - 3 cask vatting	57.2%	£70
2	Apr '23	2017	5	Single Distillery Peated Blend	80% Rhosdu & 20% Croftengea spirit, vatting	57.7%	£40
1	Nov '22	2010	9	Chardonnay Yeast	Glen Douglas spirit, Chardonnay Wine Yeast fermentation - Single Cask #119	57.1%	£65

Geeky bit:

Here's a table of the different spirit types Loch Lomond can produce: