Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain Scotch Review (2021 Festival Bottling)
By Alex Southgate
Rating: B
(Credit: Loch Lomond)
You have to love a good special edition and the one examined here is very close to home for me personally: the Peated Single Grain Scotch Whisky from Loch Lomond that was bottled especially for the 2021 Southport Whisky Festival. Southport, England, is my home town and I’m always going to be rooting for our local fair, so once given the opportunity I couldn’t wait to give this whisky a try.
My Loch Lomond Single Grain Scotch Whisky is the peated expression, made entirely from malted barley. Really the only thing separating this from a Loch Lomond peated malt is the equipment, because if it had been distilled in pots it would have been a single malt. The cask was for my bottling selected by Michael Henry and bottled exclusively for the 2021 Southport Whisky Festival. Coming from the Loch Lomond Distillery, this is a single cask bottling, my bottle coming from Cask#730. Distilled in 2017 and bottled in 2021, a 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel was used to mature this single grain whisky. This is a small run of 247 bottles and comes in at a respectable cask strength of 61.3%, but it is an example of the larger Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain expression. This bottling is naturally colored and non-chill filtered.
The Scotch
The Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain Scotch Whisky is a very clean looking Scotch. Very pale in hue in the bottle, it’s even lighter when it hits the glass and quite appetizing to the eye. This is a very easy-pouring whisky leaving only faint legs on the sides of the glass.
This is a fairly heavily peated whisky and this comes across instantly to the nose after the pour. The smokiness of peat lifts to reveal a good waft of ginger mixed with sweeter tones of brown sugar. These scents pair nicely with the citrus punch of lemon. The finish is dry and spicy with the scent of cloves and notes of oak.
Likely on account of the peat used in this expression the first notes you get to the taste are slightly medicinal. This isn’t at all unpleasant but definitely noticeably immediately on the palate. The carrying flavor is one of autumnal berries which blend nicely with the zesty lemon hit that is also present to the nose. The finish is short but herbal with an aftertaste of mint and lavender.
The Loch Lomond Single grain is definitely a tasty scotch but also a powerful one. This isn’t by any means what I would call a smooth whisky and at 61.3% I’m certainly not surprised at this.
As enjoyable a drink this is, it probably isn’t something you’d drink a lot of in one sitting. This is the sort of thing you drink a few slow glasses of and enjoy with friends. I don’t think it would be the first thing in your collection you’d reach for on a whim. This being said, it’s still a really nice winter warmer if you like your whisky to be on the stronger side.
The Price
My select version of this Loch Lomond Single Grain came in at about £46, which is very reasonable considering that this is such a small, specialized run. The standard version is often listed at around £30.
