ctbeck11
Lindores Abbey MCDXCIV Single Malt
Single Malt — Lowlands, Scotland
Reviewed
July 21, 2021 (edited May 13, 2023)
Nose - caramel, sparkling apple cider, orange zest, sweet floral notes, vanilla, cinnamon, grass, mild ethanol burn.
Taste - green apple, sweet floral notes, orange, caramel, lemon, grass, ginger, chili pepper, dry oak, cocoa, cinnamon, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short and bright with green apple, caramel, and sweet floral flavors.
I received this sample in the mail today and was really excited to dive into the review. This has two qualities I very rarely experience: a first release from a brand new distillery and it’s a Lowland whisky. The nose is delicate, fruity, and floral. It’s light and fresh with a bit of baking spice, but there’s not much else going on here. The palate carries most of the same flavor, but with more sour citrus, tingly ginger, and a hint of cocoa.
Overall, this is above average but not much more than that. There are some really nice aromas and flavors, but they aren’t yet fully formed. It tastes young and bright, but I bet it’ll come together really nicely with a few more years of aging. From what little experience I have with Lowland whiskies, it seems to be par for the course. Light, fruity, and unassuming. A huge thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for sending this one along. It was really cool being able to taste a first release from a distillery that shows a lot of promise for the future.
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@cascode I’ve never heard of those either. Would love to try some more lowlands in the future. It’s the only region I know close to zero about.
@ctbeck11 Don’t forget Ailsa Bay which is located on the Girvan site. There are also 6 lowland distilleries that are now closed and gone, including Rosebank. You occasionally see these turn up from Independent bottlers. I think there are a couple of new lowland distilleries being built.
@ContemplativeFox Yes, that’s right. The grain production is all in the lowlands and it is the biggest volume by far.
@ctbeck11 that's based on those all being prominent producers of grain whisky, which I'm fairly sure is still the most common by volume due to its use in blends. It might not be the case that most whisky overall comes from there, but most grain whisky definitely does.
@ContemplativeFox I would have never guessed that. The stores around here never have more than one or two, and they’re usually products from Auchentoshan or Glenkinchie.
I think most whisky comes from the lowlands. North British, Cameronbridge, Port Dundas, Girvan, and Strathclyde to name a few.
@ctbeck11 oh...didn’t realize Daftmill was Lowlander—-thought it was English. Can’t keep up anymore
@PBMichiganWolverine Outside of Auchentoshan, the only others I’m vaguely familiar with are Glenkinchie and Bladnoch, but I haven’t tried anything from them. Apparently Daftmill is too, but this is the first I’ve heard of that one.
@ctbeck11 besides Auchentoshan, I don’t think I ever had another Lowlander ( are there any?). I figured this must need a few more years. The only newbie that blew me away was Bimber and Daftmill, and maybe Kilchoman ages ago.