Royal Lochnagar 12 Year

Time to catch up on Distiller reviews today! Nice nose right off the bat. There is more sweetness in there than lighter whisky, a lot like the Dalwhinnie 15. I sense floral properties, like jasmine, but more fruit like white grapes, pears, and cherries. The palate is more floral forward than expected, and this balances out the sweetness. The buttery/concord grape medium length finish is welcomed, but I'll knock it for the coloring, and possible chill filtering and a low ABV. It does not taste mild at least. 3.5. A summer sippin' dram that could be easily paired with food. The theme should be "Vacation" by the Go-Gos. Thanks so much for the sample Pranay!

Finished the week. Hanging in there on my March Madness pools. The weather is still cold (ugh!). Time to pour this sample provided @PBMichiganWolverine. I have never had a Royal Lochnager before nor have I ever seen one on any shelf. I am not sure what to expect. Straight up: the nose is heather, honey, floral, apricots, coconut, marshmallows, orange marmalade. A touch pinch of cinnamon spice harkens in the depths. A light honey-tea sweetness arrives first on the palate. As the sweetness subsides, dashes of white pepper spice and peat bring the next wave of flavors. Orange and apricots lurk about faintly. This is all wrapped in a medium-light body. What’s left is a drying palate with bitter orange and ginger root with a touch of char. A warming soul sensation keeps a nice comfy feeling on this cold winter evening. This is not an overly complex dram, but it does deliver some good nose and flavor. Not balanced in a ying-yang way, but in a linear way. If this is a $45 to $50 whisky, this a good pour (don’t know the cost). Worthy of a try. [85/100][Tasted: 3/16/18]

Here’s another sample from the team effort: (Royal) Lochnagar 12 Year. This is a highland distillery that was awarded a royal warrant from the U.K. royal family that made them the official distillery for the royals for a term of 5 years. I’m not exactly sure who decides this determination, how often it happens, what it brings the distillery/royal family/regular Brit citizens or what the big deal is. It’s a British thing, us ‘Muricans just don’t understand. This one is bottled at the minimum standard of 40% ABV, is light copper in color, appears quite oily but it doesn’t make many legs in the glass. The nose is very fruity, almost artificially so, with oranges and some blackberry jam. There’s an underlying note of tea leaves as well- which doesn’t sit well with me. I was forced to drink so much tea as a kid (no sodas) that I actually can’t stand even the smell of tea as an adult. The palate was again very fruity- orange slices, pears with lots of honey sweetness. There was a nice vanilla creme candies flavor that arrived mid-sip. The lack of barrel notes made this a seriously fruity and overly sweet dram, though. It needs some oak or heat to balance it. Sadly, it’s just not there. The finish is medium in length, turning somewhat dry and leaving those darn tea leaf notes on the tongue. Or perhaps, this was just stuck in my head- I don’t know lol. It was this final statement that turned this pour negative for me. It’s all because of my dislike of tea, though. Overall, I think this would be a decent beginner’s dram for those looking to ease into scotch. The lack of heat and oak will make an experienced drinker probably think less of this one. Me? Well, I can’t handle the tea leaf aspect. I have to rate this one pretty low because of that fact. Thanks to my friend @PBMichiganWolverine for providing this one, but it’s just not for me. I hate to give it a crashing score, so I’ll just rate it middle of the road and move on.

Stop number 70 on the SDT is Royal Lochnagar. Lochnagar was the first distillery to ever receive a Royal warrant, which basically means it was the first to provide scotch to the Royal Palace, and thus granted the title “Royal” Lochnagar. This 12 year old Highland single malt is bottled at 40% ABV and is chill filtered and has colorant added making it an amber color. Fresh stone fruits on the nose. Apricots and red plums. Oranges, tangerines and marmalade. Melons, strawberries , blackberries and a touch of vanilla. A light but elegant oak. Typical Highland profile so far. Floral honey, light mint and herbs. A little nutmeg and ginger. Strong notes for only 40%. A sherry sweetness with maple syrup and some cherries forms after a while. The faintest trace of wood smoke and a strange aromatic note I can’t quite place. Not bad at all. The palate echoes the nose with the apricots and tangerines. Honey, herbal tea and light oak. Licorice, ginger and light vanilla. Not a very complex palate, but that’s not always a bad thing. A medium-light bodied mouthfeel, mouth coating, a little creamy and dry. The finish is medium length, very dry with apricots, oak and herbal tea. A strong flavor profile given the low ABV which brings to mind the Cragganmore 12 year old. I know that one is from Speyside, but it’s also at 40% and has strong flavors. A really nice and fruity nose, but the palate and finish fall a little short. For around $50 it’s a pretty good value, but there are better bottles out there. Would have been a 3.75 were it not for the very dry finish and the shortcomings of the palate. So a 3.5 it is. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers

This was my sample offering as we start round 5 of our Scottish distillery trading team. About 2 more rounds to go, and we’ll be wrapping up this brilliant journey concocted by @LeeEvolved. Lochnagar, or officially Royal Lachnagar, is interesting in the sense that there’s nothing exceptional or worthy remembering about it except that it somehow got itself a Royal warrant. Which in essence is a title given by the king and /or queen for their favorite distillery for 5 years. So that means that for a period of 5 years, Lochnagar was the provider of whisky to the royal family. A huge financial windfall. It doesn’t have to be whisky, but can be any product. The key is that it would be the provider of that product’s brand to royalty. It’s been given to Aston Martin, Cadbury, and Twinings tea. Lochnager was given the title by Victoria and Albert, being so close to their Balmoral home. And so there you have it...an interesting ( albeit utterly freakin useless) lesson on granting Royal warrants. Now to the whisky tasting: it’s meh. Decent. If I’m ever born into the Royal family, not sure this is where I’d grant a warrant (for me, it would be Springbank). But to each his/her own...whatever floated Queen Vicki and King Al’s boat.

A slight smoky note that may come from the rejuvenation of the barrels as well as a certain floral/herbal smell on the nose. There is a certain sour note, bordering on green apple, and an oatmeal like malt sweetness. A warm, but abrupt finish. A nice introductory single malt, IMHO.