Officially still a 20th Anniversary bottling, this heavily peated Loch Lomond 2006 single cask whisky appeared only a few weeks ago. It is an official bottling selected by The Whisky Exchange.
Loch Lomond has lots of peated options (Ichmoan, Inchfad, Croftengea…) but all these names will be phased out in the near future, in favour of the Loch Lomond brand. We’ll need extra information to know what kind of spirit it is – in this case the spirut comes from their straight neck stills with a wide spirit cut.
Loch Lomond 13 yo 2006 (56,8%, OB for The Whisky Exchange 2019, refill American oak cask #196, 266 btl.)
Nose: a pair of rubber boots, with wet wool, damp chalk and all sorts of branches and leafy notes. Also pinesap, lemons, as well as a little sharpness of grasses and capers in their juice. All this with a warm, sooty layer covering it, plus a hint of vanilla.
Mouth: pretty raw, thick and powerful. A form peaty core, but with a certain heady lightness to it as well. Sweet pears. Eucalyptus and menthol, lots of resinous notes and sour apple. Slight pungent pepper, cold ashes, some meaty hints, tarry ropes and grapefruit juice. Then some herbal and leafy notes again.
Finish: long, like an ashtray with lemon zest and a sour edge.
A fairly sharp and strong whisky, where lemon and herbs are lifting the vegetal, peaty core. Quite good but lacking a bit of balance and depth. It requires patience and a bit of water to tame it. Only available from The Whisky Exchange.