Loch Lomond Reserve

Picante aroma. Un poco fuerte el alcohol. Picante. Notas amargas persiste en toda la boca. Un fuerte ahumado de turba. Pica y quema al fondo. Interesante si te gusta los whisky con ahumado y corpulentos.

The cheapest blend in the loch lomond range is actually a very drinkable whisky, with easy tasting notes without a hard alcohol note. Bottled at 40%abv, burnished gold color On the nose, honey, vanilla crest, apples. On the palate, honey, cinnamon, ashes. Aftertaste is medium long, a little herbal. Not much to say here, for the price, it is a good offer, not for critics but for drinkers. 65/100.

Tasty for a cheap blend - very drinkable

For some time now I've sung the praises of Loch Lomond Reserve Blended Scotch as one of the bargains of scotch whisky. It's rich, malty, with a smoky and vegetal note but most importantly an individuality that is rare for a budget level blend. At least, that was the situation until a month or so ago. At that time my compatriot @KT66 alerted me to a diminution in the profile of Loch Lomond Reserve, a condition with which, after tasting a couple of recent batches, I have to concur. TL:DR - This blend has lost something. Whatever the reason (and I suspect that it is that the initial bottlings are now being replaced with later batch product), this blend has lost a bit of moxie. The smoke note is still there, subtle and sooty, but less prominent. The fruit is diminished and the sugars are a little more banal. The ethanol note is more present. It is still a good scotch blend but it tastes as though the recipe has changed and they now have a higher proportion of grain whisky to malt. At the price, still good value and recommended, but don't expect to be blown away as you once might have been. "Average" : 77/100 (2.5 stars)

A rather average blend, with a moderate touch of peat. A bargain at a fair price. Notes of honey flavor, biscuit, malt, pear?--perhaps. I was curious about this, so spent about $33 for 1.75 to have it shipped in from the west coast. It is pleasant enough at that price point to use as a "jug" scotch for parties, etc. However, for daily availaibility I will probably stay with Grant's Family Reserve, which I don't have to ship in.

Re-review at bottle-kill Nose: Warming and cosy with leather, honey, malt, orange, peach, peanut and vanilla notes. There is also a smoke presence with ash and chimney soot qualities (it's not like Islay smoke, but very agreeable). There are hints of butterscotch and an absence of any intrusive ethanol scent. The dry-glass aroma is malty vanilla. Palate: The arrival is soft and sweet and mainly focused on malty flavours. As it rests in the mouth some warm cinnamon spice emerges along with a little tannic black tea. The development (yes, a blended scotch with development!) brings porridge and nutty flavours, bitter orange marmalade, a hint of the same sooty smoke from the nose and a smidgeon of licorice. The texture is deliciously creamy and oily - this is an unusually rich mouthfeel for a blend. Finish: Short. Some sweet tones but the tea flavour from the palate lingers and turns a little bitter, which is the single fault of any consequence. There is a puff of smoke in the aftertaste. This bottom-shelf priced whisky punches well above its weight and is one of the great bargains in scotch whisky. It's not up there with the more expensive top shelf blends, however in its price range it is outstanding value. Since discovering it about 18 months ago it has become my mixing scotch of choice. The Loch Lomond distillery has two pot stills, six hybrid pot/column stills, a Coffey still and several continuous column stills on site. Total output is 23 million litres annually, which makes it one of the biggest distilleries in Scotland. By combining the output of their different stills in a variety of ways they can bring to market a range of single malts and blended whiskies. Other blended scotch whiskies are "brands" created by mixing malts from many distilleries with a large proportion of grain whisky, the goal being to engineer a specific profile and ensure brand consistency. In contrast because Loch Lomond Reserve is a blend of only Loch Lomond malt and grain, its profile, like that of a single malt, is a representation of a single distillery character. I believe this makes it the only example of "single blended scotch". "Above Average" : 82/100 (3.25 stars)