Loch Lomond Reserve

Nose: Fragrant, warm and malty. Peach, apple, orange peel, a little honey and vanilla. There is a mild, soft ashy smoke in the background and a wholesome leathery quality that is very agreeable. The dry-glass aroma is malty vanilla. A little ethanol is apparent but given that this is one of the cheapest blended scotches available it’s a remarkably good nose with an “old-school” profile. It reminds me a little of what Teachers Highland Cream was like in the 1990s. Palate: The arrival is soft, sweet and malty. Cinnamon spice, tannic black tea, cereal and bitter orange emerge in the development together with a hint of the same sooty smoke from the nose. The texture is a little thin and spirity (but no more than most blends) but there is some silkiness from the grain whisky. You can happily drink this neat or with a dash of water as a sipping whisky. Finish: Short. Some sweet tones but the tea flavour from the palate lingers and turns a little bitter, which is the only fault. There is a puff of smoke in the aftertaste. This is a bottom-shelf priced whisky that is way better than it has any right to be and it has become my go-to daily dram for mixing. At the price it is very good value yet after being on the market for about five years it remains largely undiscovered and is a quiet giant-killer. I think it has dropped just a fraction in quality over time, largely in the finish, which is not quite as long now, but it is still a remarkably good budget blend. All other blended scotches (as far as I’m aware) are composed of malt and grain whiskies from many sources and are engineered to achieve a specific profile. Uniquely, Loch Lomond Reserve is produced by just one distillery and its character is a snapshot of the Loch Lomond house style. There is no legal classification for such a blend, other than simply “blended scotch”, however it could justifiably be considered, unofficially, as a “single blend”. Well worth the money and highly recommended, but don’t compare this to your favourite malt or even a premium blend, because it is not trying to compete in that arena. However, against anything else in the AUD$30-50 range it is clearly the winner. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)

The nose is pretty terrible. Ever piss on a campfire? Smells like that, firewood and ammonia. Taste is tolerable. Unidimensional burnt oak, with a little bit of peat smoke. There’s a reason why scotch is normally a lot more expensive than $26.

Colour is pale orange-brown. The nose is quite satisfying - not very spiritous with a hint of smoke, fruity sweetness with bold grain and wood tones; even some steak meat notes show up sometimes along with smoke-dried salami however the overall aroma might not be called very bright - it’s just neutral. The taste is more prominent. It obtains notes of grass, bread, vanilla, spices and citruses which are the most defining here. Also some flower dust. Some peat and smoked salami. Though, again, the taste is a bit spiritous and bitter. Finish is more about burnt oak and bread with some light sweet notes. LL Reserve is not that simple, though all the terms are not well expressed but decent in general. Well, I rate it fairly high above average relatively to the cheapest blends (such as Tullamore D.E.W or Ballantines). And I even might choose it over some of the single malts as well.

Life is to short to try bad liquor...