Loch Lomond Single Grain

Thanks to a friend of mine for sharing this sample!

Loch Lomond brings up a lot of thoughts. First off: Who?

So Loch Lomond is a dual whisky distillery in the Highland region. They make both grain and malt whisky, and as of 1971, the last of a whole bunch who used to probably not called “The Two Faces” or something silly like that. They make multiple whiskies, each with different names. Had a Craiglodge, Crotengea, Inchfad, Inchmoan, Inchmurrin, or Old Rhosdhu? Well congrats, Loch Lomond was in your mouth.

Trying to figure out a profile on the distillery is quite difficult. Reading through the reviews on the internet has told me… there are some unique notes on these.

But that’s not all. Loch Lomond is the whisky of choice by Captain Haddock. And as someone who tried to use Tintin books for every single French book report, I’ll tell you right now that’s a huge plus for me.

Not only that, Loch Lomond’s output is malt whisky from a column still. Some call this a silent malt, but it’s a grey area. And the whisky we’re reviewing today, Loch Lomond Single Grain, is named Single Grain and Single Malt.

Suffice to say, it’s all confusing. Let’s just get to how it tastes, shall we?

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Highland

Abv: 46%

Colour: 7.5Y 9/6

Nose: Wax, tangerine, passionfruit, tea biscuit

So it starts out like smelling a fake bowl of fruit. At your grandmas. During tea, because there are tea biscuits there.

What, your grandma didn’t make tea biscuits? My ridiculous Norman Rockwell WASP life isn’t automatically the norm for everyone? What-what-what?

The above was sarcasm. I know that’s not normal for all. There’s a heavy wax amount, lots of tropical fruit, and a dry, flour aspect.

Taste: Tangerine, cream, orange peel, tea

Light orange heavy. It’s a weak creamsicle. And tannic.

So more tea, but you put in too much orange for some reason. And it’s kinda weak.

Finish: Tangerine, playdoh, malt/cereal, ginger

Orange and… okay, yeah, that’s playdoh. Yup. That’s fruit and a kid’s toy not meant to mix.

To add to the WASP-Y aspect of my life, my mother made me playdoh as a kid. So I may have eaten it.

Conclusion: What a weird whisky. This (assumed to be) 3-year whisky has a lot going on. Well.. a lot more than I’d typically think. It’s a lot of oranges, at least.

Do I love this dram? No. It’s simple, lots of orange, and odd on the finish. But do I hate it? No. It’s at least interesting enough to keep sipping. Frankly, as far as buying a litre of it and using it as a pour for friends, or a daily dram, or even as a mixer for a nicer cocktail, I certainly want to try more of them.

73/100

Scotch review #955, Highland review #161, Whisky Network review #1508