Nose: Leathery malt, orchard fruits, a little vanilla and the beery note I get in almost all Loch Lomond. Pencil shavings and fresh-cut planks. It’s a good nose but a little shy. Palate: Sweet initially but very quickly turning quite hot and developing a sharp, uncontrolled spiciness that is not to my taste. Hot cinnamon and chili spice, apple and some unfortunate sour notes that continue into the finish. The texture is lightly oily. Finish: Medium. Sour IPA beer and apple vinegar. The nose is the best part of this, having a pleasantly fresh malty profile, but sadly the palate fails to live up to expectation. I last tasted this just over 3 years ago (the original review is now appended to this one - see below) but I don’t think this current edition is as good. It’s raw and the spicy heat on the palate has become intrusive and is not corrected by dilution (that just dials up the sourness). Loch Lomond is a very large distillery that runs a variety of still types. Each produces a distillate with a different profile and these are mixed in various combinations to produce their array of whiskies. The curious thing is that I much prefer their bottom-shelf blended scotch (Reserve) and the bottom of their range of single malts (Original) to their more expensive age statement expressions. This is generally around AUD$75, which is reasonable for a 12 year old whisky over here, but I don’t think it is particularly good value at that price and I have seen it for as much $100, which is crazy. Their NAS "Original" single malt is only $50 and for me it has better balance and no trace of the sour finish you find on this. It would be interesting to know the proportions of their various distillates in this as opposed to the Original, and whether the difference between the two expressions is due to the spirit or is coming from the casks. Tasted from a 3-pack of 50ml official distillery samples. “Adequate” : 74/100 (2.25 stars) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Review from 2019: Nose: Malty, leathery, dark honey, orchard fruits, a whiff of smoke, some caramel, brine and vanilla and even a little cinnamon spiciness. It's a well-balanced, multi-faceted and pleasing nose that orbits a forceful heart of cereal/malt notes, and there's a beeswax presence that is reminiscent of Clynelish. There's also an oaky hint and an almost metallic intrusion, but it's not a deal-breaker. Palate: An entry that is sweet but forceful, like the sweetness of blackstrap molasses combined with mixed tropical juices. It's a little hot and spicy on the palate, but agreeably so. A very light anise note appears in the development along with some white grape juice, dried peaches, dried apples, and preserved lemon. The texture is on the oily side, but only slightly. Finish: Medium/long. Malty, cereal and mildly tannic. There is a light lingering aftertaste of oily, sweet lemon thyme and something hot (chilli? white pepper? galangal? stem ginger?). It's good but marred by a very slight sour note in the finale. The nose is particularly fine and opens out very well given some time in the glass. This is my third tasting after opening the bottle yesterday, and it has developed surprisingly well in just that time. I'll predict right now that this will be very good indeed by the time it's half-way down the bottle. The palate is enjoyable if you like a full-bodied whisky. If not you could reasonably call it "hard". A dash of water amplifies the spicy notes and considerably lengthens the palate. I enjoyed this and at the price it is fairly positioned. It shares some features with Springbank, Clynelish and Ben Nevis, but it's not in the same league as any of their expressions. Another reliable malt from the rejuvenated Loch Lomond. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)