This whisky forms part of Loch Lomond’s core range single malts – this contains both no aged stated and aged whiskies (currently up to 50 years), limited edition single malts (distillery editions, special series and travel retail), as well as a range of single grain whiskies.
This 12 Years Old single malt is matured in three varieties of American Oak casks – ex-bourbon, re-fill and re-charred – and is considered a notable example of the Loch Lomond distillery style – fruity with gentle sweetness and hint of smoke. This is the youngest of the age stated whiskies from Loch Lomond and partnered with other 12 years olds – Inchmurrin, the fruitier style, and Inchmoan, the smokier style.
This 12 years old single malt is matured in three varieties of American Oak casks – ex-bourbon, re-fill and re-charred – and is considered a notable example of the Loch Lomond distillery style – fruity with gentle sweetness and hint of smoke. It is bottled at 46% and is non-chill filtered. This is the youngest of the age stated whiskies from Loch Lomond and partnered with other 12 years olds – Inchmurrin, the fruitier style, and Inchmoan, the smokier style.
Loch Lomond is located in the small Scottish town of Alexandria, which lies just south of the large Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. This in turn lies to the north west of Glasgow. Loch Lomond is one the handful of Scottish distilleries with a cooperage on-site. However, they are the largest with over 30,000 casks being checked, repaired, or rejuvenated each year.
The Loch Lomond distillery was founded in 1965 by the Littlemill Distillery Company Ltd. After almost 20 years of production it closed between 1984 and 1987 following a takeover by the Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Ltd. The current owners are the Loch Lomond Group, who also own Glen Scotia in Campbeltown. The distillery is unusual as it has both straight-necked and traditional swan-necked pot stills allowing the freedom to take different cuts, altering the character and flavours within the spirit.
They take two cuts of spirit (high and low strength) and produce unpeated and peated single malt through these stills. This allows for a wide range of whisky (at current that is five) to be produced after maturation. The single malt distillery has an annual capacity of five million litres. They also produce a further twenty million litres of single grain spirit for use in blended whiskies.
The Loch Lomond 12 Years Old is bottled at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. It is available in specialist whisky retailers in selected world markets. A bottle should cost £42-£45.
Our Tasting Notes
Pale gold in colour, this 12 Years Old has sweet malty oatmeal biscuit and grassy aromas on the nose. Then come bursts of honey, green apple, ripe apricot and wild flowers. An underlying gentle ashy smokiness carries through well.
Initially on the palate, you can expect soft and gentle creaminess. This is reminiscent of vanilla ice-cream and sweet chocolate fudge with a bold apricot jam fruitiness and a tiny hint of clove. A further hint of waxy fresh honeycomb also comes through. There is also plenty of vanilla – a distinct vanilla custard note just adds to the creamy feel. On the finish a drying hay-like flavour matches with sweeter fruity notes, oakiness and that hint of smoke to delivery a moderate and mouth-watering linger.
What’s The Verdict?
This is really well balanced whisky with a dewy freshness balancing bold fruitiness and gentle smoke. The soft creaminess makes this a very pleasant and enjoyable whisky to drink. It would be a great single malt to introduce a non whisky-drinking friend to as it has a lovely sweetness, balance and depth. Delicious and makes you want to pour another dram.
