Loch Lomond 14-year-old Spiced Apple & Soft Smoke / 46%/ 0.7l

Loch Lomond is probably the most unconventional producer of Scotch whisky, producing both malt distillate (approx. 5 million litres per year) and grain distillate (approx. 18 million litres per year) in one place, not to mention vodka and gin.

The facility is equipped with one pair of traditional stills, two pairs of Lomond stills and a pair of continuous distillation columns. Such a configuration creates endless possibilities; a few years ago, a spokesman for the distillery stated that it produces whiskies with a dozen or so profiles. Since 2018, Loch Lomond whisky has been the official spirit of the famous golf tournament The Open (the previous one was Glenmorangie). The 14-year-old presented here is a blend of distillates from traditional stills and Lomond stills finished in French Limousin oak barrels.

Nose: green apples and pears, orange peel, grapefruit, coconut flakes, vanilla, marzipan, cinnamon, cloves, traces of forest floor and peat smoke.

Palate: baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon, oranges, grilled pineapple, vanilla, caramel, toffee, a touch of cardamom and fennel and light oak tones.

Finish: medium long, with notes of summer fruits, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, toasted oak and a fleeting trace of smoke.