Loch Lomond 19 Year The Open Course Collection Royal Portrush

Rating: 19/23 I needed a special occasion dram and this was golf-themed, so I figured it was just right for my golf-themed occasion. N: Loch Lomond funk that is old and maybe not wearing all that well. A definite bit of ethanol is mixed in with apples and apricots and dry, bitter vanilla. Unfortunately, the ethanol smell, despite being clean, is the biggest aroma present. There is a bit too much bitter mustiness, but it's OK. A hint of savoriness that isn't quite meaty or soy sauce and is under control. A hint of yeast. P: Sweet fruit with cinnamon. A touch of red fruit like currants or something, then a little apricot and tangerine. It's a touch oily like it came out of an oloroso cask and I get some nice maltiness as well. The signature Loch Lomond funk is subdued, but present, and it mixes well with some mellow wood. There's a bit of aged funk something going on here that reminds me of scotch with too much water added, but it stays on the good side of that line overall. I also get hints of peppermint amid some nice dark chocolate. Notes of caramel. F: There's some funk and the bitterness makes a larger appearance than I'd like, but there are layers here, with malt, caramel, apricot, vanilla, apple, and musty wood all coming in. This is actually a fairly complex finish that is decadent and fairly approachable. - Conclusion - This is a very nice dram. It isn't blowing my mind, but it's showing me that Loch Lomond can still be quite good even at older ages. They did a great job with the finishing on this one and it really brings the thing together and gives it some life and decadence. This is a lot better than Signatory's Inchmurrin 17 (1996) (15/23). The Inchmurrin (also a Loch Lomond product) is lower ABV with more of that bitter, watered-down flavor. It's also more brash, young, biting, and unbalanced. This showcases more wood, balance, vanilla, and spices, with less burn. There are decadent vanilla and apricot flavors here that the Inchmurrin is leagues from competing with. Bladnoch 17 California Red Wine Cask Finish (17/23) has a similar amount of complexity to this, but it is less balanced, with more odd flavors like black licorice, buckwheat, and menthol. This is more approachable, balanced, mature, and decadent. This still does taste a bit over-matured, but it isn't at all bad. This is easily an 18. Ben Bracken 28 (18/23) is more bitter, mellow, funky, watery, and complex than this is. Honestly, I think that the Ben Bracken's major flaw is that it's been watered down too much. Otherwise, I think that it easily defeat this. I think that the two are fairly competitive, though I might give that win to this by a small margin. I think it's the decadent vanilla that makes me like this a bit better. I'm thinking that for now this is an 18, but I can imagine giving it a 19 in the future. Maybe even a 20. A great dram for sure, but not one that is blowing me away. Coming back to this half an hour later, I'm leaning toward a 19. This is excellent, but it's still a little lacking with that bitterness and lack of nuanced complexity. I do think that this is better than Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 (18-19/23), but it isn't a huge difference. As usual, it seems like my take is to buy Wild Turkey Rare Breed to maximize value.