Loch Lomond 14-year-old Fruit & Cinnamon / 46% / 0.7l

In 2019, Exponent Group sold the assets of Loch Lomond Group to Hong Kong-based equity firm Hillhouse Capital Group for around £400m.

Exponent had taken over Loch Lomond five years earlier, at a contract value of £210m. A further £25m was spent on the distillery’s renovation and on promoting the Loch Lomond portfolio of brands on the global market. The Loch Lomond 14 Year Old presented here (advertised as ‘Fruits and Cinnamon’) debuted in 2020, as part of a new and more attractive core range. Distilled in Lomond stills, the whisky spent its main maturation period in refill American oak barrels, before finishing for around 12 months in lightly toasted French Limousin oak barrels. Loch Lomond 14 Year Old is bottled at 46% abv and unchill-filtered.

Nose : fruity and slightly spicy, apples, pears, plums, coconut flakes, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, lemon jam and oak.

Palate: vanilla, crème brûlée, toffee, oranges, pink grapefruit, pineapple, cinnamon, a touch of white pepper and anise and a light oak bitterness.

Finish: medium long, with notes of citrus, cloves, anise, cinnamon, vanilla and oak tannins.