Tastes

The expert notes pretty much hit the nail on the head for this one. Maple syrup with ginger, oak and a hint of tobacco sum up the palate for me. There's a lingering spicy heat as it goes down, not unpleasant but very present. Makes for a decent sipper in a pinch, but much more of a mixer for me. The spicy maple flavor works well in an Old Fashioned and Hot Toddy.

Canned peaches in sweet syrup combined with stroopwafel warmed and moistened over a cup of lapsang souchong tea adding a touch of smoke and astringency. Mouth coating and delicious.

Nose: Light smoke, stewed pair and a hint of vanilla Palate: Guava jam, honey dew, a touch of pepper, wisp of smoke and soft vegetal peat Finish: Guava, black licorice with light peat on back of the palate. The finish is long. When I initially opened this bottle, I was on the fence about whether I liked it or not. It seemed a bit of all over the place, slightly smoky with some unusual fruit flavours; guava jam, honey dew, cantaloupe with a touch of anise and pepper on the finish. If I would have reviewed it based on the first couple of pours it would have gotten a score of 3.5. The bottle has now been opened for 7 months and is just below the halfway mark. That time has done a great job of allowing these seemingly disparate flavours to gel together and come to a pleasant harmonious balance. I'm sure my palate has also learned to enjoy this oddball whisky over that time. This is so not your typical Highland scotch. If I were tasting this blind, I would probably guess it was a Campbeltown? Makes me curious about Loch Lomond's other offerings. Overall, I'm impressed by the layers of unique flavours presented in this very affordable single malt and how well they work together. I would absolutely buy this again but it's not a scotch I would recommend to someone who's just getting started on their whisky journey.

The nose is very promising with vanilla and apple notes. Reminds me a bit of Eagle Rare 10. The palate is also fairly reminiscent of Eagle Rare 10, except a very faded version with the flavor volume turned down to 3. There's potential here, would be curious to try a more mature version like Weller 12. This one however goes firmly in the mixer category, just not enough flavor intensity to make it an enjoyable sipper for my palate.

What a beast of a whisky! I generally don't add water to my scotch but needed to add several drops to tame this one. The nose has that rubbery peat quality to it with a hint of iodine. This continues on the palate with some sweet toffee but without the wet ashes that I normally associate with Ardbeg. A really great dram to end the evening on.

I generally drink my scotch neat but for my taste this lacks the character, flavors and depth to work as a sipper. As a mixer though it makes for a pretty nice highball. This is where it really shines since it brings out the light notes of peat that I enjoy.

Not trying to be malicious here, but this whisky has literally no redeeming qualities. It drinks fairly hot at only 40% abv which means it is very young, probably the minimum 2 years of aging to qualify as whisky. The nose presents as a mixture of rubbing alcohol and faint smoke. There is an astringent malty flavour on the palate and very little else, maybe a hint of lemon pith? It shows no evolution or complexity whatsoever as you hold it in your mouth trying in vain to find even a hint of something pleasant. If you enjoy drinking cheap vodka straight, this is your whisky

Nose: Vanilla, banana custard and cereal. Palate: The vanilla and banana custard from the nose immediately deliver on the palate. Green apple makes an appearance a few seconds later ending with a spicy pepper note and a touch of candy cinnamon heat. Finish: Slightly waxy, pepper, candy cinnamon and ginger. Medium length. I can definitely see this as a scotch that would appeal to bourbon drinkers since it has a similar intense flavor experience that you would get from a bourbon, just without the corn driven sweetness. Distller really needs to re-evaluate this one because it's way better than a 77! It has a solid craft presentation; 46.3% ABV, un-chillfiltered and I believe the color is natural as well. This is a great little single malt for the price and I would take this over most other scotches in this price range.

This review is a bottle kill, the peaty aspect has faded considerably at this point. Nose: A mix of honey, mineral oil, and vanilla. The peat is there but pretty faint, then again I just drank a Bowmore 18 before this in hopes of regaining some of the peat influence. Probably a mistake. Palate: Thick vanilla custard and honey. There are some nice cereal notes as well. I really like this. It's creamy, sweet and feels very pleasant on the tongue. Not getting much peat flavour, it's more in the background. Once again that's probably because of the Bowmore I had before. Finish: Finish is short, with a touch of honey lingering before becoming a bit hot and oily. I initially bought this bottle as a bit of a novelty since it's the only peated Irish whiskey I've ever seen available here in my area of Canada. When opening the bottle for the first time there was a bit of a diesel fuel odour that emanated from it, but that soon dissipated and that odour never translated to the palate. Overall I've really enjoyed this whiskey and for the price it's definitely been worth experiencing.