Hunter Laing Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Lochnagar 1997 (15 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2266/ HL9818

Dist: Jun 1997 Btl: May 2013/ Tasted: July 2013

A lovely, elegant nose of fragrant honey with plenty of crisp citrus, white fruit and mineral notes. Hints of malt and ginger spice plus a touch of fresh barley. 

The palate has a slight oily/ syrupy character with hints of straw, followed by dense honey and ginger notes. A very citrus/ mineral middle with some delicate barley notes and a long, dry spiced finish with just a touch of oak.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Lochnagar 1997 (16 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2388/ HL10588

Dist: Aug 1997 Btl: Jun 2014/ Tasted: July 2014

A lovely gristy nose with lime, lemon and a touch of sherbet. Very fresh with hints of honey, butter cream and mint. A very appealing nose. 

The palate is very fresh and citric like the nose suggests. Lightly honeyed with barley an duty pollen. The flavours have a lovely softness but the citrus adds piquancy. Long with the citrus lingering and a light oak note appearing.

Douglas McGibbon Royal Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Royal Lochnagar 2001 (10 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV0737/ DMG7648

Dist Jan 2001 Btl: Jul 2011/ Tasted: Oct 2011

The nose is relatively fresh although the rampant oils have subdued the nose somewhat. Slightly gristy with no shortage of vanilla and a touch of youthful cereal. 

The palate opens with some gentle fruit coated in light syrup along with a touch of white liquorice. A pleasant aperitif malt with a reasonable length and a spicy, slightly bitter finish.

Douglas Laing Royal Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Douglas Laing Old Particular Royal Lochnagar 1997 (17 year old) 48.4%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OLD0140/ DL10434

Dist: Jun 1997 Btl: Aug 2014/ Tasted: Sept 2014

Fresh, granity and gristy aromas of hard barley, honey, granulated sugar and a ‘toshan-esque boiled sweet note. With time a little grainy spirit note appears.

The palate is lightly toffee’d with a touch of granite and lightly oiled barley. Again that ‘toshan-esque boiled sweet character is noticeable. Medium length, a little hot on the finish with a touch of citrus.

Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Royal Lochnagar 1997 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2081/ DL7595

Dist: Apr 1997 Btl: Aug 2011/ Tasted: Oct 2011

The nose is a touch high toned, but there is some pleasant crisp citrus fruit, but the overall sensation is one of neutral spirit (which is par for the course with a lot of Lochnagar bottlings). With time hints of malt biscuit and herbal notes emerge.

Soft and slightly oily on the palate. Again the overriding sensation is of neutral spirit with a dollop of caramel/ toffee.  weighty towards the middle with a touch of honey and spicy tinned fruit. Reasonable length with a slightly mentholated, herbal finish.

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Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Royal Lochnagar 1997 (15 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: PBR0015/ Dist June 1997 Btl Sept 2012/ Tasted Sept 2012

A light, citrusy and grassy nose. Slightly gristy with light honey and mineral notes. It seems younger than its age statement.

The palate opens with some sweet barley along with a touch of grass and hints of vanilla and rose petals. Light and youthful but with a pleasant spicy finish and late perfumed flowers, especially on the after taste

Signatory Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Signatory Vintage ‘Cask Strength Collection’ Lochnagar 1991 (16year old) 58.3%

Refill Sherry Cask 427/ Dist: Apr 1991 Btl: Jun 2007/ Tasted: Sept 2007

Quiet heavy, dense and oily nose, yet it displays a nice balancing freshness. There is some earthy citrus fruit and butterscotch and a distant herbal note along with a touch of decaying rose petals. Water kind of turns it into a bit of an homogenised morass!

The palate is crisp and nicely mature. There is a pleasant depth of juicy apple, citrus fruit and delicate oak. Water again homogenises. Tangy, short and alcoholic with that decaying rose petal note. Not exactly overwhelmed! Average at best.

Duncan Taylor Royal Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Duncan Taylor Rare Auld  Royal Lochnagar 1986 (22 year old) 53.8%

Bourbon Cask 951/ Dist: Oct 1986 Btl: May 2009/ Tasted: July 2009

A wonderfully lightly earthy nose with oodles of mature honey, apricot, barley and a lovely balancing granity hard edge. Over time it develops leafy, herbaceous notes. 

Astonishingly rich with a superb depth. The palate is moist and juicy opening with hints of fruitcake followed by apricot, creamy oak and citrus. The alcohol builds slowly and the middle is full of church incense and gristy spices all wrapped in the most delightfully fresh acacia honey. Absolutely beautiful! 

A drop of water emphasises the citrus aromas whilst it softens the palate, possibly muting the intensity. However it is still gloriously mouth filling and it emphasises the leafy spice notes on the finish. Personally I would drink neat.

Dewar Rattray Royal Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Royal Lochnagar 1996 (10 year old) 59.5%

Re-Fill Bourbon Cask 545/ Dist July 1996 Btl: Aug 2006/ Tasted: Jan 2007

A lovely, clean and crisp nose of citrus fruit and a faint touch of coal smoke. Quiet estery without water a vague note of tropical bananas. On the palate it again displays the crispness evident on the nose with lovely, delicate, very pure citrus fruit. Easy going with a very long length displaying the tropical banana notes in the finish.

A drop of water brings out a grassy, garden fruits note on the nose and on the palate really gives it a lovely, creamy texture, emphasising the white floral notes and botanical notes on the finish It has a lovely delicacy and would be ideal for those of you who love good Irish whiskey.

Blackadder Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Blackadder Raw Sherry Cask Lochnagar 1992 (13 year old) 60.2%

First Fill Sherry Butt 3617/ Dist: Mar1992 Btl: Feb 2006/ Tasted: Apr 2006

Amazingly deeparomas, like falling into a vat of sweet toffee laced with creamy orange fruit. Lovely purity of sherry spices, dried fruits along witharomas of coffee and dusty spices. Luscious and oily in the mouth, full of coffee laced fruit, wood tannins, sherry spice and oodles of nutty stewed dried fruits, slight winey with an incredible spicy middle, it’s an intense alcoholic fruit rush! Lovely length with the coffee flavours returning. 

A touch of water mellows the nose and emphasises (if that’s possible!) the sweet toffee and lush honeyed fruits, this is lovely, underneath lurks some cereal malt but it is really playing second fiddle to the wood. On the palate it makes it velvety smooth and brings out a lovely interplay between the sweet and bitter flavours, it also emphasises the length and even dares to bring out the cereal-malt. Superb!

Royal Lochnagar Distillery Bottlings Tasting Notes

Royal Lochnagar 12 year old 40%

Tasted: May 2005

Clean. Quite a dull nose, slightly sherried, slightly bourbon, and slightly fruit.

Dry medium body, unexciting, slight fruit, sherry and salt. Soft, medium length with a slight astringency on the finish.

Royal Lochnagar 12 year old 40%

Re-Tasted: June 2012

The nose is quite dense and a tad unyielding. Relatively straightforward herbal, leafy, boiled sweet sherry aromas with some herbal marc-like notes along with a hint of burnt toffee. 

The palate is soft and very much like the nose. The oak dries the middle and finish, although some light oils do attempt to balance as does a touch of dried fruit, but it never really gets out of 1^st gear. Now that could be down to the oak or maybe the c word?

Royal Lochnagar 12 year old 40%

Code: L1209CM003/ Tasted: May 2022

Aromas of slightly confected boiled sweets, barley and subtle sherried dried fruit. A little perfumed with time but overall pretty simple stuff.

The palate is soft and slightly barley’d and sherried. Complexity challenged, simple and bland. Medium length with a slight whiff of smoke in the finish and returning dried fruit. In Conclusion: The finish is the best part!