Croftongea 10 Year (Exclusive Malts)

 

Exclusive Malts was an imprint or brand or wing of the independent bottler The Creative Whisky Company, which was founded and run by David Stirk, a veteran of Douglas Laing and Cadenheads. 

For whatever reason, Exclusive Malts bottles were widely available here in the Washington DC region in the mid-2010s. Unfortunately the Creative Whisky Company apparently folded in August of 2018 and all their stocks were sold off. The website is no longer accessible, which is often the final and most conclusive mark of death.

I was particularly fond of a wonderful expression of Tomintoul that was only available via Exclusive Malts, and that I sampled at my very first independent bottler whisky tasting back in 2016 or so, sponsored by the now-defunct Arrowine just off K Street NW. 

I was at The Smith bar and restaurant in what passes for Chinatown in DC on March 18th when I happened to glance through the available bottles of scotch on display and recognized in an instant the Exclusive Malts/Creative Whisky Company seal/logo. When I asked the bartender to see the bottle, I was even more curious - it was a 10 year Croftongea, the peated version (or one of the peated versions) of Loch Lomond distillery's fantastically complex product line. Bottled at 56.7% ABV and matured in "a hogshead" (assuming bourbon), let's explore this unusual single cask expression of Croftongea. 

Nose: First, this was almost a neck pour - the bottle seemed to be recently opened, with only one or two drams poured from it. The nose is clearly peated, with additional notes of bright citric lemon peel, generous doses of industrial Highland smoke, an interesting greasy/oily scent, a lot of metallic elements... all in all, I wondered if the peat had been harvested from an area near a factory or plant of some kind. Tons of metal and oil notes intermix with the lemon and peat. With time in the glass, vanilla and barley sugars emerge and round out the nose nicely. 

Mouthfeel: Thick, viscous. 

Palate: There is an initial strong hit of marshmallow, followed by forest moss, thick dry slices of peat, rubber tires, tons and tons of metals, and a thick, sooty smoke. Quite a curious, rich, earthy whisky, this. More industrial oil notes than I find even in the funkiest of Springbanks. After time, white wine notes emerge - unsure what is producing them, since the label doesn't indicate any kind of special finish. The wine note is dry and herbal - almost like vermouth. After even more time I get green herbs and black pepper. 

Finish: Long, smoky, very metallic. More black pepper that is sometimes overshadowed by the metal. Lasted quite long and let weird deposits of what tasted like copper or iron in the corners of my cheeks. Unusual, but interesting. 

Verdict: When I looked up the review I wrote of the only other Croftongea expression I've had - a 9 year SMWS bottling called "Doctor Blowtorch" - I noted a lot of coal/mineral notes, which are definitely replicated here. I'm not sure what Loch Lomond is doing to get such a deeply metallic industrial note, but I find it pretty interesting and not unappealing. 

I highly suspect that this whisky would be terrible at 40 or 43%, but the high strength saves it by exploiting the unusual flavors to their fullest potential. A curious release by both Loch Lomond and the former Exclusive Malts! If you find yourself in Chinatown DC in the Spring of 2022, there is a healthy chance this bottle will still be sitting there, unless they use it for some high test version of a Penicillin or other smoky cocktail. Definitely give it a shot!