Lochside 22 yo 1979 / 2001 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 276 bttls 50% vs Lochside 32 yo 1982 / 2014 Malts of Scotland #14019 55.2% vs Lochside 29 yo 1981 / 2010 Thosop 50.5%
Less common vintages for Lochside:
Lochside 22 yo 1979 / 2001 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 276 bttls 50%
One of those malts where the fruitiness, while leaning juicily tropical, also hauls an unwelcome measure of grass juice. Not saying that it’s an unusual pairing in whisky either, eg Littlemill and the Irish single malts. This one also has mustard, rocket, and scratched copper pans, which give it dimension. On the tongue, the fruit makes a late comeback in the guise of blackcurrant and raspberry wine gums, together with a pinch of chilli seed. 87 pts
Lochside 32 yo 1982 / 2014 Malts of Scotland #14019 55.2%
Very likely the only 1982 Lochside ever bottled. And this one has a tale to tell: Vicks rub, searing hot minerals and ground up granite dust. Hot working machinery. And more industrial on the palate now with a notion tobacco tins and resin polish. Astringent tree resins like mastic and perhaps a gummy sort of sharp acidic fruit again, the sort that comes sugared and wrapped. Ends with the sharp bite of fruit acid. The whole is quite something. 90 pts
Lochside 29 yo 1981 / 2010 Thosop 50.5%
Feels like it’s only right to have an 81 now, so how about this famous bottle. Right fruit here is not immediate, and that’s likely because of the pronounced wood effect. Plenty of dusty spice, dark and gleaming antique hardwood floors, an acre of thick leather and some cade oil even. At the same time the harsher aspects are assuaged with raspberries, bitter cacao and a drop of molasses. It’s one of those I can’t really tell if it’s ex bourbon or ex sherry. On the palate its all spices, dry resins, mint and fruit tea, and boatloads of medicinal bark. The fruit is overpowered here. 88 pts
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- Springbank 32 yo 1966 / 1998 #499 55.1%
- Millburn 36 yo 1969 / 2005 Douglas Laing #DL2152 50% vs Glenburgie 40 yo 1963 / 2003 Signatory #4751 56.4%
- Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland for the Nectar #536 51.3% vs A Speyside Distillery 32 yo 1989 / 2022 Thompson Bros 51.4%
- Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 61.1% vs Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 58.7%
- Talimburg 19 yo 1986 / 2005 The Whisky Fair #1485 45.9% vs Talisker 20 yo 1981 / 2002 62%
- Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
- Clynelish 29 yo 1965 Whyte & Whyte 52.1%
- Brora 21 yo 1982 / 2003 Signatory #416 58.4% vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982 / 2009 Synch Eli Daily Dram 46%
- Dornoch 5 yo 2017 / 2023 #46 ‘Jasper Broers’ 57.9% vs Shizuoka ‘private cask’ 2017 / 2022 #2017-108 61%
- Clynelish 26 yo 1993 / 2020 Carn Mor #11215 52.7% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 /2021 SMWS 3.327 ‘Siren’s Song’ 57.1%
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