Lochside, 1981/2010, G&M cask 762, refill sherry hogshead.
Lochside was a distillery in the Eastern Highlands, some 22 km North East of Dundee. It’s a sad patch of North East Scotland as far as distilleries go: Hillside, North Port, Glenury Royal and Lochside itself did not make it out of the last millenium, leaving (strangely) Fettercairn and Glencadam to carry the banner.
picture from http://www.maltdiary.com
Lochside’s premises operated as a brewery before being converted to a distillery in 1957. It stood out in particular because it had coffey stills (till 1973) as well as the usual pot stills and was therefore 1 of only 3 distilleries able to produce a Single Blend, that is to say malt whisky and grain whisky distilled and blended at a single distillery. It also fed a mass market blended whisky (though not a Single Blend) named Sandy Macnab, the modern iterations of which can still be found.
All in all, given that it closed in 1992, there’s really not that much of it around which is too bad, as Murray McDavid used to call Lochside the ‘Springbank of the East’ and that is a hint as to the high bar set for this whisky. Lochside completely burned down in 2005, so I guess this is one for the romantics in us.
Lochside, 1981/2010, G&M cask 762, refill sherry hogshead.
Nose: Wow, so not a speyside style.. Barley candy, big tropical fruitiness old Bowmore style, lemon sorbet, and then the sting of the sea at the back of the nose. Something very crystalline in it. But the oak needs to speak too: peeling oak paneling, ribena pastilles and just a bit of gritty gunpowder. With water: Released the richness of the sherry influence!
Palette: Sweet and sour sauce. The sweetness of the sherry is matched by a sour zestiness, and in between that the salt reasserts itself. All the while the fragrance of yellow mangoes and white peaches washes about. Maybe some granite chips too but there’s so much happening at once. Green sappy astringent edge. With water: No change. (Good).
Finish: Rather long, salt, lime juice, and green.
No wonder Lochside is held in such high regard. This is a first for me, but if Lochside is this interesting and fruity, I would be interested in getting my hands on more. Not that I’ve tasted a lot of whisky, but that tropical fruitness! I’ve only had that in two 60s Bowmores, a 70s Tomatin, a more recent Benriach recommended by the distillery manager, and now this Lochside.
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