Let us see if these two can make us foam at the mouth, since it is the froth of July.
Lochside 21yo d.1981 (50%, Lombard Jewels of Scotland, Bourbon Cask, C#607): nose: a slightly leathery, fruity nose. It has faded moccasins that struggle to hide berries of all sorts; unripe gooseberries, blueberries, blackberries. Blotting paper rocks up, drenched with ink, recycled paper from the 1980s (if you were not alive, it was grey and drank a lot of ink. Okay with a ballpoint, not so much with a fountain pen). Later yet, hay bales, old books (paperbacks), cardboard, and the, strawberry-flavoured, chewy sweets. Breathing helps the fruits come out more to the fore, now accompanied by fragrant flowers (is it jasmine?) Tilting the glass brings papaya and dragon fruit into view (or scent, actually). After the first sip, coffee grounds become apparent too. Mouth: nicely fruity on the tongue, it has candied papaya cubes, mango slices, jack fruit, sprinkled with black pepper from the mill. The (tropical) fruits grow and grow in intensity. The texture is creamy and juicy, not unlike fruity custard. It is sprinkled with a pinch of aniseed, bitter and refreshing at the same time. Retronasal olfaction is submerged by similar tropical fruits: candied pineapple and papaya, guava and mango -- how excellent! Finish: the black pepper is generous, but here too, it comes to spice up gorgeous tropical fruits (candied papaya, mango, dragon fruit) and never tries to steal the show. The death has a discreet, toasted note of aniseed, or coffee grounds -- unless it is bitter chocolate. In any case, it is refreshing, and only serves to complement the pronounced fruitiness. This is ace. 9/10 (
Thanks for the dram, JS)
Lochside 42yo 1963/2006 (45.2%, Hunter Hamilton The Clan Denny, C#HH2243): this one is, of course, a single grain. Nose: in pure grain fashion, this is a mix of blueberry pancake and blackberry turnover. Currants, caramelising in a lovely sauce, tiramisù biscuits, soaking in coffee and cognac, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate sponge cake, cherry-tree logs, burning in the fireplace, and then, far back, pineapple, fresh and juicy. It quickly goes back to dark berries, though, snug in baking dough. After the first sip, the nose takes on a wood-lacquer side, as well as an unexpected assertiveness. Unexpected, given the low ABV. Mellow menthol, pine sap, and tannins. Mouth: meow! So juicy and velvety. It has the mouthfeel of peach nectar, though not the taste; that is closer to those lovely berries from the nose, mostly blueberries, here, yet also overripe gooseberries, blackcurrants, overripe cranberries and sweet shortcrust, half baked. Just as with the single malt, this one emits tropical fruits through retronasal olfaction: pomegranate, purple passion fruit, fresh fig. Menthol and pine sap (Gocce Pino-style) appear too, in the medium run; this has spent forty-two years in wood, after all. Neither is invasive, though. Finish: happiness in a glass, it has a cascade of fruits that coat the palate for a long time -- peach, blackcurrant, cranberry, fig, purple passion fruit, Chinese gooseberry, green banana. Interwoven come a touch of pine resin, sherbet and apple mint, as well as a minute serving of cured ginger that is so faint it is hardly worth mentioning. Not much pastry action in the finish; just fruit and pine-y/minty freshness. I adore this. 9/10 (
Thanks for the dram, JS)
Lochside 21yo d.1981 (50%, Lombard Jewels of Scotland, Bourbon Cask, C#607): nose: a slightly leathery, fruity nose. It has faded moccasins that struggle to hide berries of all sorts; unripe gooseberries, blueberries, blackberries. Blotting paper rocks up, drenched with ink, recycled paper from the 1980s (if you were not alive, it was grey and drank a lot of ink. Okay with a ballpoint, not so much with a fountain pen). Later yet, hay bales, old books (paperbacks), cardboard, and the, strawberry-flavoured, chewy sweets. Breathing helps the fruits come out more to the fore, now accompanied by fragrant flowers (is it jasmine?) Tilting the glass brings papaya and dragon fruit into view (or scent, actually). After the first sip, coffee grounds become apparent too. Mouth: nicely fruity on the tongue, it has candied papaya cubes, mango slices, jack fruit, sprinkled with black pepper from the mill. The (tropical) fruits grow and grow in intensity. The texture is creamy and juicy, not unlike fruity custard. It is sprinkled with a pinch of aniseed, bitter and refreshing at the same time. Retronasal olfaction is submerged by similar tropical fruits: candied pineapple and papaya, guava and mango -- how excellent! Finish: the black pepper is generous, but here too, it comes to spice up gorgeous tropical fruits (candied papaya, mango, dragon fruit) and never tries to steal the show. The death has a discreet, toasted note of aniseed, or coffee grounds -- unless it is bitter chocolate. In any case, it is refreshing, and only serves to complement the pronounced fruitiness. This is ace. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)
Lochside 42yo 1963/2006 (45.2%, Hunter Hamilton The Clan Denny, C#HH2243): this one is, of course, a single grain. Nose: in pure grain fashion, this is a mix of blueberry pancake and blackberry turnover. Currants, caramelising in a lovely sauce, tiramisù biscuits, soaking in coffee and cognac, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate sponge cake, cherry-tree logs, burning in the fireplace, and then, far back, pineapple, fresh and juicy. It quickly goes back to dark berries, though, snug in baking dough. After the first sip, the nose takes on a wood-lacquer side, as well as an unexpected assertiveness. Unexpected, given the low ABV. Mellow menthol, pine sap, and tannins. Mouth: meow! So juicy and velvety. It has the mouthfeel of peach nectar, though not the taste; that is closer to those lovely berries from the nose, mostly blueberries, here, yet also overripe gooseberries, blackcurrants, overripe cranberries and sweet shortcrust, half baked. Just as with the single malt, this one emits tropical fruits through retronasal olfaction: pomegranate, purple passion fruit, fresh fig. Menthol and pine sap (Gocce Pino-style) appear too, in the medium run; this has spent forty-two years in wood, after all. Neither is invasive, though. Finish: happiness in a glass, it has a cascade of fruits that coat the palate for a long time -- peach, blackcurrant, cranberry, fig, purple passion fruit, Chinese gooseberry, green banana. Interwoven come a touch of pine resin, sherbet and apple mint, as well as a minute serving of cured ginger that is so faint it is hardly worth mentioning. Not much pastry action in the finish; just fruit and pine-y/minty freshness. I adore this. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)
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