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Day 7 - KWM 2024 This Is Not An Advent Calendar - Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2

Posted on December 9, 2024

Day Seven - Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2

By Evan

We are set to discover a newer distillery today, with whisky that is a far-cry from the 24 Years of age displayed in yesterday’s dram. Today, we are journeying to a farm in the Lowlands of Scotland. No – this is not Daftmill, like we featured on Day One in the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar Tasting Set. This distillery on a farm is known as Lochlea.

Lochlea shares some similarities with Kilchoman, though it is not on Islay. Founded in 2017 by owner Neil McGeoch, Lochlea distillery resides on Lochlea Farm, which hosts 220 acres of barley-growing fields that surround the site. Lochlea Farm dates back to the 1700s and once housed and was worked by a certain famous poet. The Farm site that Lochlea Distillery resides on was home to Robert Burns between 1777 and 1784.

Lochlea Distillery and surrounding farmland

(Lochlea Distillery from above, showcasing the surrounding fields. Photo from Lochlea Distillery's Facebook page)

From its first distillation in 2018 to its first whisky in 2021, Lochlea was in the capable hands of Malcolm Rennie. Rennie was no neophyte when it came to whisky making, having spent time working at Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, and Glen Moray among other distilleries over his 35+ years in the industry. The man has been making his mark on Lowlands distilleries over the past decade: Just before joining Lochlea and guiding its inception, Malcolm Rennie helped revive and recreate the Annandale Distillery, which started production in late 2014 for the first time since 1918. That is more than 90 years prior if my math is correct. Since leaving Lochlea, Rennie has been helping head the revival of Rosebank Distillery since joining owner Ian McLeod Distillers in 2021.

The person behind most of Lochlea’s whisky releases until now has been John Campbell. While he joined Lochlea in 2021, Campbell has a solid reputation and a history in the Scotch Whisky industry – having spent 27 years heading a small Islay operation called Laphroaig. Maybe you have heard of it? In August 2024, it was announced that John was leaving Lochlea. In October, it was announced that he didn’t just leave the Distillery, but Scotland itself. He headed to California - of all places - for greener pastures and traded working with malted barley for dealing in Corn and Cane; he is now Chief Operating Officer and Master Distiller with Sespe Creek Distillery. Sespe Creek resides in Oxnard, California and was founded the year before Lochlea came into being, back in 2016. The Distillery has released Vodka, Rum, and Bourbon thus far, though its products are not available in Canada as of December 2024.

The Farmland surrounding Lochlea supplies all the grain that Lochlea needs for spirit production, and 1/5th of the barley is malted on-site at Lochlea’s own floor maltings. The spirit style aimed for is fruity and grain-driven.

(A closer look at the distillery. Photo from Lochlea Distillery's Facebook page)

The Lochlea Single Malt Scotch we will be tasting today is Batch 2 of their Cask Strength series. It was released earlier this year on June 10th, 2024. It is bottled at a smooth and unassuming 60% ABV, so it should go down easy. No word is offered regarding its exact age, but the whisky inside was matured in a combination of PX Sherry, Oloroso Sherry and STR casks. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2 – 60%

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: So loaded and dense that it is challenging to pull out individual notes until your brain has a moment to compute it all. Or maybe it’s just me who is loaded and dense. Oatmeal drizzled with maple syrup, Oloroso sherry with a touch of turpentine, molasses, malt vinegar, orange juice concentrate, oregano and basil flakes, and chewable children’s vitamins. There are some soft cereal notes in there somewhere too, but they are difficult to pull to the fore.

Palate: Like a reduction made from Five Alive fruit punch – there is so much tangy and syrupy fruit in here it is crazy. Grand Marnier, Lime cordial, apple cider, Chewable vitamin C tablets, chocolate coated espresso beans, and an entire roll of assorted Lifesavers candy put in your mouth all at once. Like on the nose, there are some soft cereal notes underneath, but this is more Froot Loops than Shredded Wheat.

Finish: Long and lasting with notes of grilled pineapple, candied apple and butterscotch.

Comment: Not much subtlety and nuance here. With everything in this dram dialed up to 11, it undeniably makes for a memorable experience!

What will tomorrow bring to our whisky journey? It can't possibly get any bigger than this, can it? Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Evan