I have a deep fondness for Scotland. It is a beautiful country of rolling green hills, dramatic mountains, ancient castles, kind-hearted people, and of course, excellent whisky! My sister is a longtime resident and has put down roots in Southwestern Scotland, only fifty-odd miles from the distillery that is featured in this quarter’s club selection. Lochlea is one of a select few distilleries that produce whisky from barley they grow onsite. Though a relatively new distillery, their roots stretch back hundreds of years.
Sláinte!
Sam Crocker
Spirits Buyer
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Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2 Single Malt |
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Region: Scottish Lowlands |
Lochlea Distillery was founded in 2014 by Neil and Jen, who had lived on the property since 2006. It operated as a dairy farm for many years until they decided that for a farm of this size to be viable, they needed to do something very different. Barley had historically been grown on the farm, mainly as livestock feed, and so in 2015 they embarked on an experiment: growing 50 acres of malting barley. They began quietly, learning from their mistakes, exploring the possibilities and making contacts in the malting industry, before finally making a big decision: they’d build and operate a single malt distillery on Lochlea farm. Construction began in 2017, converting and repurposing the farm structures into distillery buildings. They secured all the licenses in 2018, and the distillery was commissioned in August 2018. Since then, they have been growing barley and patiently producing spirit. Legendary poet Robert Burns called Lochlea his home throughout his formative years, working on the farm from 1777 until 1784. Cask Strength Batch 2 is the second in a series of annual limited-edition bottlings. Each batch is bottled straight from the casks without water. Cask Strength Batch 2 showcases something entirely new from Lochlea, as Production Director John Campbell has selected a combination of Oloroso Sherry, STR and PX casks from our warehouse that work particularly well at higher strength, amplifying our signature fruit, nut, and cereal flavors. - adapted from www.lochleadistillery.com |
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Cask Type: Oloroso Sherry, STR (shaved, toasted, recharred) and Pedro Ximenez Sherry |
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ABV: 60% |
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Price: $99.99/700mL |
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Tasting Notes: Nose: Apples, peach syrup, marmalade Palate: Wild lavender, rose petals Finish: Black pepper, signature Lochlea fruit |
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