This whisky is the oldest single malt to date released by the Lowland farm distillery of Lochlea. The Lochlea 6 Years Old was launched ahead of Burns Night back in January. Famous Scottish poet and wordsmith Robert Burns used to live and work on Lochlea Farm from 1777 to 1784.
The whisky has been created by Jill Boyd, the new Master Blender for Lochlea, and Darren McCormick, the Distillery Manager. They selected just six casks (3x ex-bourbon and 3x ex-Oloroso sherry) for the release. All were distilled and filled to cask in 2018, early in the distillery’s production history.
The Lochlea Distilling Co. was founded in 2015 by Neil McGeoch. Located near Kilmarnock, he converted the 300 year old Lochlea Farm from beef production to growing barley for whisky making. He had taken over the farm several years earlier in 2006 but decided to diversify and make the farm more profitable. The distillery is in the old piggery with two cattle sheds repurposed as maturation warehouses.
The independent family-owned distillery has an annual production capacity of 200,000 litres. Production began in late-2017 with the Lochlea First Release launching several years later in early 2022. One of keys to their success is that all barley used for whisky production is grown on the farm. This equates to 600 tonnes per annum and makes them one of the only distilleries in Scotland to grown all of their own barley.
The Lochlea 6 Years Old is released at 50% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. There are just 2,500 bottles that will distributed to Lochlea stockists worldwide. A bottle will cost £90.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is deep amber and the nose is sugary and malty, but with a hint of savoury. Prominent aromas of molasses and black treacle lead the way and are joined by some crumbly brown sugar and rum n’ raisin ice cream. Everything is underpinned by a distinct earthy maltiness and some freshly sawn oak. Further aromas of woody spices – think of cinnamon bark, nutmeg and clove – sit underneath.
On the palate this whisky is rich, bold and sweet. Notes of dark brown sugar with a hint of treacle tart kick things off and are complimented by dried apple and plenty of raisin. A robust savoury characteristic sits in the background and has a charismatic earthy and umami vibe that is reminiscent of yeast extract (think Marmite or Vegemite).
Some caramel and a robust malty note also come through. Hints of liquorice root, dusty wood spices (especially cinnamon powder and a suggestion of sandalwood) and cocoa powder evolve, while notes of bitter dark chocolate and coffee grounds develop towards the end.
The finish is long but loses all of its sweetness early on. It then becomes super malty, spicy, woody and drying. Later the liquorice reappears to give a rooty and earthy vibe. Even later hints of menthol and clove accentuate the dryness.
What’s The Verdict?
This is another intriguing whisky from Lochlea, who continue to release quality single malts. Having tasted several expressions from the farm distillery now, there are definitive savoury notes developing with age. This is especially true with whiskies that have a decent percentage of ex-sherry cask maturation it seems.
This 6 Years Old is an interesting take on a ‘big sherry bomb’ and feels bold and very grown up. It will be interesting to see how Lochlea’s whiskies develop with further time in cask, as they are already have a powerful depth of flavour.
