Whisky for Robert Burns' birthday
Robert Burns Day, the national bard of Scotland, is approaching, celebrated on January 25, the poet's birthday. Traditionally, the day culminates with a festive dinner, called Burns Supper, at which one of the dishes is the traditional Scottish haggis, during the presentation of which one of the poet's more famous poems, "Address to a Haggis," is read. On this day, we look with special tenderness towards Scotch whisky, whose charms were also extolled by the Scottish poet in his poems.
Not long ago, a new distillery entered the market - and quite dynamically - that is associated with the figure of a Scottish poet, namely Lochlea. Launched in 2018, the Scotch whisky plant is located on the Ayrshire farm of the same name, where Robert Burns himself lived for several years in the 18th century. And it is on the poet's birthday, on January 25 this year, that Lochlea announces the release of another edition of its whisky, the first in the distillery's short history, after all, to have an age declaration.
Lochlea 5yo (50% vol.) is a whisky compiled from the contents of five different casks. It included two different first-fill bourbon barrels, one first-fill oloroso sherry barrel, one second-fill oloroso sherry barrel and one second-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry barrel. Two of these five casks are from the first firing that took place at the distillery after its launch in August 2018, so this is the oldest whisky from Lochlea. What's more, this whisky was made entirely from barley grown on the Lochlea farm. This kind of attachment to place is extremely rare in the Scottish distilling industry. Lochlea benefits here from its location in the Lowlands, surrounded by farmland, and from a location in a region favorable to cultivation incomparably more than the mountainous Highlands or the islands exposed to the whims of the Atlantic.
The individual barrels were selected by Lochlea's director of production, John Campbell, who joined the Lochlea team shortly after he announced his retirement and farewell to his former employer. He previously held the position of manager of the Laphroaig distillery on Islay.
According to the manufacturer, Lochlea 5yo in its aroma offers hints of roasted pineapple, brown sugar, hazelnuts and sourdough bread. In taste, on the other hand, we can expect lemon zest, candied pear and orange peel. The finish is expected to feature caramel, hints of black pepper, rose petals and leather. The new whisky will go on sale exactly on Robert Burns' birthday, which is January 25. The purchase of a single 700 ml bottle will cost us £89.99.
Lochlea is a new distillery that, rather unusually, the world learned about when the release date for its first full-fledged whiskey was announced at the end of 2021. Due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the release finally took place in early 2022, also on Robert Burns' birthday. Since then, Lochlea has regularly released four limited editions per year, according to the natural calendar, one per season. So far, however, these whiskies have not had age declarations. Lochlea 5yo is the first, although here, too, there is no talk yet of building a permanent official distillery offering. For this we will have to wait a little longer.
[18.01.2024 / photo: Lochlea]