Croftongea 15 year (SMWS 122.46 "The Inland Shore")

 

Croftongea is the heavily peated imprint of distiller Loch Lomond, and the other ones I've had have been pretty funky indeed. This is easily the oldest I've seen in the wild, a 15 year from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") that I picked up as part of their Black Friday sale. Thought I'd give it a spin, the price was reasonable and I always appreciate the flavor risks that Loch Lomond takes. They aren't afraid of releasing some really crazy juice. 

Here are the official notes: 

The panel encountered a particularly savoury and crisp peat smoke at first. Then plenty of fresh, coastal salinity, smoked olive oil, preserved lemons, citrus air fresheners and sardines charred over hot wood embers. Water brought a zing of hot acrylic, warm vinyl, sandalwood, umami paste and a hint of seawater. The neat palate opened with bath salts, fragrant dried herbs, cured white fish, bacon frazzles and finally a waft of more grubby, organic peat coming through. Reduction added layers of complexity that suggested sheep wool oils, rock pools, dried seaweed, mineral oils, umami pasta water and an increasingly sharp saltiness. 

Pretty standard heavily peated Highland lineup: smoke, salt, citrus, fish, wood, umami notes... all welcome here. Bottled at 53.6% ABV, nicknamed "The Inland Shore" by SMWS, and aged 15 years in a refill hogshead. Let's see how funky this can get: 

Nose: Whew - this is a doozy. Sweet sweet vanilla extract combined with used, gritty motor oil. Lemon pith and salt. Lime and ash. Sweet peat. This is very pungent and astringent. 

Mouthfeel: Super heavy and viscous. 

Palate: Lemon pledge, rock salt, smoke, peat, hints of caramel on the back end, the olive oil that anchovies are packed in, and motor oil. Herbs, too: rosemary maybe. If it were smokier, it would be quite close to an old Laphroaig single cask release that SMWS had a couple years ago. 

Finish: Long, of course: peat, ash, lime, wood, and oil. Heavy coating inside the mouth that lasts a good while. 

Verdict: This is not for the faint of heart, but is quite interesting and powerful for dedicated peat lovers. Surprisingly similar to the house profile of Laphroaig, with the vanilla, the lemon/lime, the salt and peat. Just missing the thick smoke. This is good, and I think 15 years is the right age - any younger and it would be too motor oily, too industrial; any older and you'd lose what little smoke remains, I think. Nicely done, Loch Lomond.