Lochside 1965 47 YO Adelphi Limited
Lochside 1965 47 YO, 54,6%
Lochside 1965 47 YO Adelphi Limited
So. At the Bergen International Whisky and Beer Festival this winter I took part in a fairly impromptu tasting. As evening was approaching on the second day of the festival, Adelphi decided to hold a tasting to get rid of the dregs from some of their less valued bottles, and conned some of us to pay good money to attend.
I jest, of course. While some of the reasoning behind holding the tasting might have been to empty out some bottles that held too little whisky to justify taking them along to another event, the whiskies and the presentation were quite excellent. We all felt quite lucky that they decided to share them with us, rather than squirreling them away for themselves.
The whiskies presented were:
Caol Ila, 2003, 10 yo, 57,6%
Ardmore 2003, 8 yo, 58,2%
Lochside 1965, 47 yo, 54,6%
Highland Park 1986, 26 yo, 44%
As it was, as I said, fairly late in the day, the Lochside was the only one I got proper notes on.
The Lochside Distillery in Montrose was sadly mothballed in 1992, and then demolished in 2004-2005. The buildings had housed a brewery since they were built in 1781, and then the distillery from 1957. Lochside was one of fairly few distilleries that produced both single malt and grain whisky, so what we have here is in fact a single blend whisky. Although Lochside kept on producing single malt until 1992, the coffey still on which they produced grain whisky was removed after the distillery was bought by Spanish whisky manufacturer Destilerías y Crianza del Whisky S.A.
Apparently most of the production from Lochside went into various blends for the southern Europe markets, but they also had their own brands. Notably the Sandy Macnab Old Blended Scotch whisky, and a semi official 10 yo single malt.
Nose: A great mingling of sweet, warm fruits, wood, tobacco, salt and some faint peat. It keeps slowly changing and developing.
Taste: Almonds, marzipan, worn leather, tobacco, sweet cherries, poached fruits.
Finish: The finish is as sweet and as long as you could want it to be. It keeps on developing and changing, bringing on citrus, sweet orange peel, the must of old books, thick sherry and a mellow, woody note.
Balance: The Lochside 1965 47 YO brings out the best qualities of old whisky. It keeps on moving and developing, but it is never in a hurry to do so. For an expression this complex and well balanced I can hardly believe it's actually a blended whisky.
Score (91/100)
Sláinte! - Kjell Ove