Loch Lomond "Original" (NAS)

 

Loch Lomond is a Highland distillery that originally dates to 1814, but was closed for much of the intervening years. It only reopened around the mid-1960s, and today bears the distinction of making both single malt and grain whiskies - one of only a very very few places to make both.

They have a number of somewhat confusing imprints (Croftongea, Inchmurrin, Inchmoan, Old Rosdhu, Craiglodge, Inchfad... maybe more), of which I've had a few delicious independent bottlings of Inchmurrin. Interestingly, they are the official sponsor of The Open - the golf tournament/event. In Scotland, I suspect that is a Really Big Deal. 

"Original" is the lowest bottle of their core line - no age statement, ex-bourbon barrels, bottled at 40% (everything higher in the lineup is 46%). How is it, you ask? 

Nose: Soft, muted, takes time to really open up. Soft malted barley, toffee or caramel sugars, some light citrus (lemon?), and some honey. Fairly basic stuff so far. 

Mouthfeel: Quite thin, especially at only 40%. 

Palate: Some light barrel char, some more caramel, a little more lemon, a little more honey. A certain oatmealishness that goes nicely with the honey. This is not complex whisky, but it's satisfying in a very basic way. Eminently drinkable - perhaps TOO drinkable - it's very easy to knock this stuff back in a hurry. In other words: it's very smooth. 

Finish: It's there and it's gone again. Very brief - I almost thought I got some smoke along with some wood and pepper to go with a lingering honey sweetness, but nothing to write home about. Brief. 

Verdict: For the price, this is not at all bad. Other reviewers have noted chocolate flavors, vanilla flavors, even lavender flavors; I didn't get any of that in my bottle. Maybe the lightest of peat? It's not bad, and the flavors I did get were quite nice, but it didn't shake my world either. Still, this is priced around the mid-$20s, which is probably about right. It won't supplant anyone's basic 10- and 12-year bottles on the shelf, but it will make a fine housewarming gift to someone who is perhaps a little wary of Scotch - it's smooth, easy drinking, and probably great as a mixer.