Lost Distillery Company: Lossit (Classic Selection)

The Lost Distillery Company (link here) is a company in the vein of Compass Box - premium quality blends of single malt scotch. However, they have a very specific ambition: as their name implies, they attempt to recreate long lost single malts by doing very extensive research and then blending whiskies together to approximate what the original might have been like. 

In the case of Lossit, an Islay distillery that stopped production in 1862 (!), I can't imagine there are any bottles left, so they must have really had their job cut out for them. Their website says they take ten different factors into account - things like ingredients, equipment, production method, location, etc. - when attempting to recreate something like Lossit, so theoretically this bottle uses single malts that draw from the same waters, the same type of barley from the same locations, use the same type of still, etc. 


I'm a sucker for history projects like this, and especially ones centered around Islay. There is a very lengthy article on Lossit on the Lost Distillery website that is well worth reading. The unfortunate reality, of course, is that there is no way to know if this is what Lossit really tasted like. But it's also fun, and not outside the realm of speculation, to imagine that it might have been like this. 

There is a liquor store near me that is moving locations, and discounting a lot of things heavily to reduce inventory and make the move cheaper. I found the pretty black matte blottle of Lossit for $30; this is the Classic Selection, the youngest and least expensive of their three tiers (the other two are Archivist and Vintage). Bottled at 43% ABV, non-chill filtered and uncolored. 

Nose: Yes, this is an Islay. Smoke and earthy peat right out front - but mild, not consuming. Reminiscent of freshly cut green firewood. Thick, rich burned vanilla custard (creme brulee), buttermilk, and full nutty malt. Strong bourbon influence. After that, some iodine. Cherry pipe tobacco (specifically, Captain Black brand). Sour red fruit, suggesting some sherry cask influence. Quite a nice nose, albeit definitely on the younger side. Reminds me a bit of a young Laphroaig (the vanilla and smoke) or a young Caol Ila (the nutty malt and light iodine). 

Mouthfeel: Thin but very creamy. 

Palate: Faint charcoal and spicy hot peppers. Earthy Lapsang Souchong tea. Cedar plank dryness lets to lots and lots of pepper. Iodine. As the palate dries out, very sweet ginger candy that converts to wet hay or straw.  When I first hit the hay/straw flavor, I didn't care for it at all, but when I began to expect it, I appreciated the earthy farmland sweetness. Interesting flavors here, farmland and woodland together. The sherry from the nose doesn't show up much. 

Finish: Interesting finish - it's not long, but the pepper sort of disintegrates and leaves smoking hay and a nice baker's chocolate flavor that is satisfying.

Verdict: I quite like this blend, I'm very glad I took a chance on it. Like Compass Box, they've really put a lot of work into this, and it shows. The flavors are all very well integrated, and this tastes like a delicious single malt Islay. If this is what things tasted like in 1862, they had it really good. At $30, this is a steal. At the suggested price of $45, I think it's a good buy. I am extremely curious to know what the original Lossit was like! Lost Distillery also makes a special edition with older whisky in it, that I think I will try to seek out. This dram would be fantastic with a little age on it. Either way, though, Lossit is a worthy young Islay blend, and I'm glad to see people are doing interesting and original things like this.