Tastes

It's like drinking a grape flavored cigar. From the lingering peppery spiciness of the tobacco leaf, to the candy grape sweetness in the mid-palate along with that ashy Kilchoman character. It really covers the entire grape flavored cigar experience in a glass.

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.