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.