Loch Lomond 12 Year

Interesting. Thin bodied, get the smokey fore thing but no fruit.

Excellent dram, well balanced with a surprising peat that calls more to Islay than other Highlands. Vanilla and Pepper to the nose, well worth the price. It's no wonder its captured The Open.

It’s 2020. It’s December. Let’s shut this year down with a brand new whiskey (or whisky) every day. It’s my own personal whiskey advent calendar. +6! Dec. 7, 2020 This scotch was recommended by @ContemplativeFox Cheers! I want to contribute to the discussion of this fine whisky whilst simultaneously recognizing that the majority of people likely to interact with this post are substantially more well-versed in scotch than I am. Ergo: fun fact time. Think you know Loch Lomand? 1) The design of the Lomond still does not originate from Loch Lomond Distillery. Both Glenburgie and Miltonduff had Lomond stills before Loch Lomond Distillery was a thing. 2) From wiki: “Loch Lomond is also the name of a fictional brand of Scotch whisky consumed by Captain Haddock in Hergé's famous comics series The Adventures of Tintin. Despite the name, the whisky has no connection to the real-world Loch Lomond distillery.” 3) Loch Lomond is the only distillery in Scotland capable of producing both Single Malt and grain whisky at the same time. Three... is enough. Nose has grain, but I couldn’t get much else. Then, I let it sit for about 20 minutes just to see what would happen, and I swear I’m getting honey and tangerine when I swirl my glass now. Body is phenomenal. I really like this. Juicy and sweet from the first instant, with honey, sugar, orange, sweetened grapefruit. It reminds me of that goop they package mandarin oranges in that you always want to drink but can’t because diabetes. I actually meant that as a compliment. Finish has a minuscule amount of smoke. It’s there, but I would never consider this peaty. There’s a nice roof-of mouth buzz that carrries butterscotch, orange jelly, and baking spices. This is one hell of a hidden gem for me. Anytime I find something new that is affordable and readily available like this little guy, it makes me want to rethink the layout of my whiskey shelf. In bourbon terms, I think I may have found my Scottish EH Taylor. I already know this lacks the depth of other scotches, and this will likely not be one of my top 5 scotches in the long run, but in one-trick-pony lingo: I like the trick. And like EHT, it’s affordable, I can find it, and I doubt it would ever disappoint me. One parting question to scotch people: if my goal is to understand “highland scotch” as a thing, do I need to look elsewhere? I read that this may be more in the spirit of lowland scotches, latitude be damned! ‘Tis the season. I’m day-to-day on my whiskey selection, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. Merry whiskey to all, and to all a beer flight!

Peat smoke, iodine, stone fruits, caramel, tar, sherry?, vanilla, oaky butter, orange, mild spice Tasting: Initial taste while coating is a caramel and fruity sweetness, at swallow the peat smoke and a tinge of bitterness bites with an overall smooth mouthfeel with smooth alcohol. The flavor continues to release stone fruit, then vanilla, a glimpse of bourbon sweetness, spice and finally decaying with residual mild smoke, ash bitterness, and caramel over a moderate length. Smoke is slightly harsh and not a lot of well developed age components as expected at 12yr. Would like to see more malt balancing bitterness. Good