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Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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January 20, 2014 |
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There isn't much Lochnagar around, but I could gather two indies to go along the new official for the Friends of the Classic Malts. The indies, especially the first one, will probably be much more 'spirit-driven', which is always interesting when you'd like to assess a 'style'. The distillery's style, that is. |
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Royal Lochnagar 10 yo 2002/2012 (46%, The Coopers Choice, hogshead, cask #9047, 360 bottles)  Colour: white wine. Nose: it's a slightly fatter Speyside style, I'd say. So slightly hotter fresh fruits, apples, cherries, gooseberries, pears... And underneath those fruits, touches of yoghurt, sour cream, embrocations and lemons as well as just a hint of baker's yeast or beer. So a fresh, youngish malt with very little oak influence. Mouth: sweet barley, sweet beer, green tea and cider apples. Good body, good balance, good greenness. Tends to become more lemony and sour, in a pretty good way. Slightly acrid too. Finish: rather long, with more pepper, lemon and green apples. Peppermint in the aftertaste. Comments: good natural malt whisky, very close to the raw materials. SGP:351 - 81 points. |
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Royal Lochnagar 'Triple Matured Edition' (48%, OB, Friends of the Classic Malts, 2013)  This baby was 'treated' in the same way as the Talisker for friends that we tried last week. Colour: dark gold. Nose: this one's a smokier version for sure, but I couldn't tell you if this smoke comes from the spirit. Touches of coal smoke, actually, then more candy sugar and gingerbread, as well as some apple crumble and touches of earth, leather and almonds. I humbly think that the triple-cask thing worked better on this Lochnagar than on the Talisker, even on the nose. Lochnagar's probably more docile than Talisker. Mouth: indeed. The gingery/oaky side that I already found in the Tasliker is well here but it doesn't fight the spirit, and the general feeling is rather that of some kind of spiced walnut cake. Candy sugar. Now it tends to become very peppery, you can even feel that on your lips, which is unusual. Chillies? Finish: long and spectacularly spicy. Ginger and pepper on marshmallows. Comments: the oak feels a lot but I think that kind of works. Definitely very modern and fully oak-driven. SGP:462 - 83 points. |
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Royal Lochnagar 20 yo 1991/2011 (54.8%, Signatory, refill butt, cask #374, 577 bottles)  Colour: straw. Nose: touches of smoke again but otherwise this one's much grassier than both the 2002 and the NAS. It's really like 'a walk in the forest', with some grass, moss, leaves, broken branches, then more leather as well as whiffs of menthol and liquorice wood. A little austere, perhaps, but I enjoy this. With water: same, just a little lighter. Maybe touches of fennel and dill. Mouth (neat): it's the 2002 with more sweetness, even more sugar, a fatter body and many tinned fruits. Pineapples, oranges, peaches, then more acacia honey and in the background, lemon balm tea and green tea. With water: once again, no changes, just more smoothness and lightness. Very pleasant. Finish: long, always very grassy, with drops of aniseed liqueur, pastis, ouzo and such. Comments: a lovely grassy and totally flawless natural Lochnagar. Long live refill wood! SGP:461 - 85 points. |
| Pete McPeat and Jack Washback |
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