Review #105 - Loch Lomond 12 Year
A distillery that's growing in popularity in whisky circles, Loch Lomond is seeing something of a resurgence in the last few years, a trait it shares with its sister distillery, Glen Scotia. Most of the bottles from Loch Lomond are still very reasonably priced - for instance, we can get the 18 Year for about $95, half the price of an 18 Year Talisker or Highland Park in our area, or a quarter of the cost of a bottle of Macallan 18.
Loch Lomond is unusual in the types of stills they use to distill their spirit. In addition to the traditional 'lantern'/'swan-neck' pot stills used in single malt Scotch production, they also employ straight-necked pot stills (which look like a mash-up between pot and column stills), a continuous column still, and a Coffey still. Using this unique combination of different still types, the distillery produces several varieties of whisky styles labeled as different brands:
Loch Lomond: Fruity with a light hint of peat
Inchmoan: Peated Loch Lomond spirit
Inchmurrin: Straight-necked pot still are used to give a lighter, floral, fruity character
Single Grains/Single Blends: Using the continuous/Coffey stills, these cannot technically be classified as single malts under SWA regulations, despite the fact that they're still made from 100% barley
Today we're looking at the 12 Year Old from the 'standard' Loch Lomond brand, probably the bottle that most represents their core character in the entry-level category. It comes in at a strength of 46% with no chill filtration, but there's no statement about coloring - rumor has it that some is still added, at least up until the last year or so.
Loch Lomond 12 Year
Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 40 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 40 (2023)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 46% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 15 months; bottles at 100%, 90% (blind tasting), 80%, and 70% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Interesting but subtle to start, some mild oak and vanilla sugar like ex-bourbon maturation, but also some dark dried red fruit, dehydrated oranges, a bit of raisin, too. There's a hint of smoke in there, but only wisps... some spice is added from the oak, pepper and clove and salt. There is definitely a bit of spirit character in here, slightly funky and maybe some old barrel funk or a 'dunnage' note. More red fruits of freeze-dried raspberry and red wine arrive, before some sherbet and savory melon finish us off.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium, just hints of oils that pull in a whiff of smoke, a mild dry spirit character, and then plenty of spices. That spice really does end up being the star of the palate: cinnamon, red pepper flakes, spicy Malbec wine, some nutmeg as well; the smoke turns slightly ashy later, more like wood smoke. There's a grainy, barley sugar side to this coming from the base spirit, and with more time, orange, apple, and a hint of sour stone fruit develop. This feels sort of 'classic,' but still slightly simple, and at the end, a little more water down. Oak is mild overall, and we end with a hint of barbecued orange.
Finish: Medium length, and some of those wood notes start to prickle like tannins. It becomes more dry overall, with spices of pepper, cinnamon, and brown sugar lingering, along with stronger spirit influence and sour apples. There's a bit of orange citrus here, too, along with dried grass and oats, some honey-coated figs and vanilla.
Final Note: There are plenty of tasting notes to pick through, but this feels a bit... inconsistent. Not quite punchy enough with the flavors, but a bit more subtle and ever-changing. That can be a good thing, but this time, there's just something about it that feels more average. Still, a decent whisky, and because of the excellent price (still $40 in our area), this gets a very good value rating. A solid pick for a daily sipper, but won't blow you away with complexity in any one tasting.
Our Average Rating: 6.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.46
