30/08/2022 Lochside

Lochside Single Blend 46yo 1965/2011 (52.3%, Adelphi Limited, Refill Harveys Bodega-Sherry Butt, C#6778, 499b): nose: woah! PS did not lie: this is, indeed, eaten alive by the sherry wood it was matured in. We have hairballs, grated lichen-covered tree bark, shiny cat fur, unlit blonde tobacco, but also a serious dose of fruit and confectionary -- red gummy bears, strawberry-flavoured chewy sweets, apple Sugus. It is all a bit chemical, really, yet enticing nonetheless. Deeper nosing welcomes chewy dried apricots and apricot-flavoured sweets (Sugus style again), talking loud and clear. There is also candied grapefruit segments, edible paper, and tangerine segments dusted with confectionary sugar. Amusingly, the initial sherry tones have left the room almost entirely, leaving but a heavy fruitiness that flirts with the chemical. We witness citrus peel left out to dry, pomelo and lime juices, augmented with crushed Aspirin, then ground cumin seeds -- black cumin seeds, to be precise. The second nose focuses on wood patina, with varnish, dark wax (that gives it a rustic feel), and old wood, rejuvenated by a lot of carpenter's care. Mouth: wood lacquer, mahogany-panelled cabinets, polished brass. Right. The fruit cavalcade is less, here. It is much woodier on the palate. Here is a drop of turpentine, carbonyl, wood glue of sorts, and an antique-furniture workshop. The second sip is more acidic than bitter; it brings back a (wooden) basket of darker citrus fruits (blush oranges, kumquats, stale pink grapefruits), alongside very-bold wood notes. Again, we have wood lacquer or varnish, perhaps wax, citrus pips, and even liqueur. It is still elegant and distinguished, but maybe slightly less immediate, due to the chewy wood. Finish: it is still precious woods, here, mildly drying and bitter, yet still oh! so elegant. Polished walnut dashboards (more Bentley than Jaguar, I would say), walnut stain, avocado stone, crushed bay leaves, lichen-covered Apple-tree branches, waxed furniture. It retains some vague bitterness, but that is really tame, now, limited to orange liqueur (Curaçao), rather than fresh-fruit peels. The second sip reveals shy passion fruits, so smothered by the afore-mentioned wood, that one would be forgiven for missing them altogether. Maybe there are very-dry mango slices and mulch simultaneously? What remains, in any case, is a strong chewy, woody, and vaguely-fruity impression. It is rather unusual, and I wonder if it comes from the maturation; Harvey, after all, is known for its cream sherry, rather than the sherry types we are more used to. This whisky is excellent in its own right, but, of course, it will always suffer from the comparison with The Whisky Exchange's single blend bottling, unfortunately. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, PS)