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Whisky II

Finnegan said:
Just taken the plunge on this, sounded interesting- my first Loch Lomond. I’ve always been wary of this distillery due to its bewildering array of distillation methods and expressions. A bit like those takeaways that sell pizzas, kebabs and curries; none of which are particularly good compared to places that only do either curry or pizza.
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I know what you mean.
Opened my first LL last weekend (the 12) but yet to try Inchmoan or Inchmurrin.
Ramble mode on:
They were bought out by Asian fund Hillhouse Capital in 2019 and that led to the 2020 rebrand of the core range and Master Blender Michael Henry being given freedom to produce some interesting bottlings* and store exclusives**. He comes over really well as an enthusiast, lots of interviews online and direct contact with the likes of Aquavitae Roy on YouTube.

Loch Lomond group took over Glen Scotia in 2014 and their rejuvenation is largely down to the investment and more adventurous approach from Lomond.

*E.g. column stills and barley, one finished in mizunura casks https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-...uts-two-limited-single-grain-scotch-whiskies/
** Chardonnay yeast and straight-neck pot still: https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p...-10-year-old-exclusive-to-the-whisky-exchange
https://wordsofwhisky.com/loch-lomond-2010-10-years-twe-exclusive/
 
Weekender said:
I know what you mean.
Opened my first LL last weekend (the 12) but yet to try Inchmoan or Inchmurrin.
Ramble mode on:
They were bought out by Asian fund Hillhouse Capital in 2019 and that led to the 2020 rebrand of the core range and Master Blender Michael Henry being given freedom to produce some interesting bottlings* and store exclusives**. He comes over really well as an enthusiast, lots of interviews online and direct contact with the likes of Aquavitae Roy on YouTube.

Loch Lomond group took over Glen Scotia in 2014 and their rejuvenation is largely down to the investment and more adventurous approach from Lomond.

*E.g. column stills and barley, one finished in mizunura casks https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-...uts-two-limited-single-grain-scotch-whiskies/
** Chardonnay yeast and straight-neck pot still: https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p...-10-year-old-exclusive-to-the-whisky-exchange
https://wordsofwhisky.com/loch-lomond-2010-10-years-twe-exclusive/
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No visitor centre. Just as well really. It’s on a grotty industrial estate a mile or so away from the loch that gives it its name. I believe it was an old chemical factory.
 
Finnegan said:
No visitor centre. Just as well really. It’s on a grotty industrial estate a mile or so away from the loch that gives it its name. I believe it was an old chemical factory.
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Yes it's not a pretty location or facility... though when it comes down to it all distilleries are factories of sorts. Of the ones I've been to neither Talisker nor Ben Nevis were "lookers", though their locations made up for it.
 
Weekender said:
Yes it's not a pretty location or facility... though when it comes down to it all distilleries are factories of sorts. Of the ones I've been to neither Talisker nor Ben Nevis were "lookers", though their locations made up for it.
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I toured Ben Nevis about ten years ago (maybe longer). Couldn’t believe how shabby and run down it was. Doesn’t seem like Nikka had much love for the place. Bloody good whisky though, not that you got a dram of it at the end of the tour. They palmed you off with their blended.

My faves were Ardbeg, Glengoyne, Bladnoch, Arran and Highland Park. Strangest was Abhainn Dearg on Lewis, drove past it about three times before I realised that the couple of portakabins in what looked like an old quarry at the end of a single track road was actually the distillery.
 
Finnegan said:
I toured Ben Nevis about ten years ago (maybe longer). Couldn’t believe how shabby and run down it was. Doesn’t seem like Nikka had much love for the place. Bloody good whisky though, not that you got a dram of it at the end of the tour. They palmed you off with their blended.

My faves were Ardbeg, Glengoyne, Bladnoch, Arran and Highland Park. Strangest was Abhainn Dearg on Lewis, drove past it about three times before I realised that the couple of portakabins in what looked like an old quarry at the end of a single track road was actually the distillery.
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Totally agree re Ben Nevis. Giving their cheapest dram at the end of the tour just felt like such a missed opportunity too, no way was I buying a bottle of anything after trying that.

Funnily enough Abhainn Dearg is one of my favourite distillery tours, although it was only a couple of years ago so probably changed a bit since you were there. But it still felt like so small and unique compared to anywhere else I’ve been, bought a bottle and they just filled it up in front of me as they don’t even have a proper shop. But that’s what I loved about it!
 
Finnegan said:
I toured Ben Nevis about ten years ago (maybe longer). Couldn’t believe how shabby and run down it was. Doesn’t seem like Nikka had much love for the place. Bloody good whisky though, not that you got a dram of it at the end of the tour. They palmed you off with their blended.

My faves were Ardbeg, Glengoyne, Bladnoch, Arran and Highland Park. Strangest was Abhainn Dearg on Lewis, drove past it about three times before I realised that the couple of portakabins in what looked like an old quarry at the end of a single track road was actually the distillery.
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Well, you wouldn't expect anything grand from something named simply "red river" , would you?
(I think that Abhainn is "river" ,and also found in Bunnahabhain which I think refers to the river mouth, and Dearg is "red" .)
I've just worked out that "abhainn" is cognate with Welsh "afon" and OE "avon ", which happens a lot in Scots Gaelic, Welsh, OE, etc. It's almost as if we all spoke more or less the same language before the Saxon invasions and only then did we start using this Germanic stuff. Bloody Saxons, comin' over 'ere...
 
stevec67 said:
Well, you wouldn't expect anything grand from something named simply "red river" , would you?
(I think that Abhainn is "river" ,and also found in Bunnahabhain which I think refers to the river mouth, and Dearg is "red" .)
I've just worked out that "abhainn" is cognate with Welsh "afon" and OE "avon ", which happens a lot in Scots Gaelic, Welsh, OE, etc. It's almost as if we all spoke more or less the same language before the Saxon invasions and only then did we start using this Germanic stuff. Bloody Saxons, comin' over 'ere...
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Yeah well Gaelic (Irish, Manx and Scots Gaelic) and Brythonic (Welsh, Cornish and Breton) are the two Celtic branches of Indo-European so there is some distant similarity. Gaelic also absorbed a lot of Norse, and some of the old Cumbric words also persist.

My old ma in Dundee still uses the old Dundonian dialect, using a lot of the old Scots language. Many of the words used are more akin to the Scandinavian languages than English (eg. bairn-child), which is ‘barn’ in Danish or Swedish.
 
chrisd said:
Totally agree re Ben Nevis. Giving their cheapest dram at the end of the tour just felt like such a missed opportunity too, no way was I buying a bottle of anything after trying that.

Funnily enough Abhainn Dearg is one of my favourite distillery tours, although it was only a couple of years ago so probably changed a bit since you were there. But it still felt like so small and unique compared to anywhere else I’ve been, bought a bottle and they just filled it up in front of me as they don’t even have a proper shop. But that’s what I loved about it!
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Did you meet Marko? A bit of a character.
 
^Can’t speak for the big man, but probably Machir Bay.
Currently on a sample of El Dorado 21 yo tonight (must be a generous Duppy share in the Caribbean climate). Wonderful paired with Bitches Brew on the gramophone
 
pawnshop92 said:
I had both of the blends, I really like the sherried one. I heard there has a bit Edrington in the mix from one of the respected indy retailers.

You might have them both, but have one this one, Weekender? ;)

https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/227174/blended-scotch-whisky-06-year-old-pst
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I do not... interesting.
Tempted by this which is on ballot on their website at the moment:
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Great label but a bit pricey for young Caol Ila especially with the £12 postage; though they will hold.
 
Latest failure of resolve:
https://www.abbeywhisky.com/products/arran-2009-single-cask-little-brown-dog-spirits
"A rather unique and special single cask release from Arran distillery, bottled by the good folk at Little Brown Dog Spirits. Distilled in 2009 and fully matured in a refill Saint Emilion wine barrique, so not overly powerful on the wine notes, due to the refill cask. What makes this rather unique is that although this is unpeated Arran, it was distilled just after a peated run so using the peated low wines and feints from the previous distillation but from an unpeated mash."
Also at Tyndrum and Aberdeen.
 
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