Scotland, Eastern Highlands: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Lochside

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Lochside distillery

Lochside Distillery
Montrose
Angus DD10 9AD

Owner: Pernod-Ricard
Creation date 1957

The Lochside distillery has been founded by the Mac Nab distillers company on the site of an old brewery (Deuchars & Sons) settled in the town of Montrose in 1957.
The distillery was producing malt and grain whisky up to the early 1970's. The distillery was sold to the Spanish group Domecq who immediately stopped the grain whisky production.
The company Allied Lyons bought the distillery in 1994, and it was mothballed soon after this.
The distillery has been demolished in 2005 and replaced by a garden cent er. The locals thought it would have been better to turn it into a museum about the Distillery`s history...

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

See Help 0 - 40 € 40 - 80 € 80 - 120 € 120 - 160 € 160 - 200 € 200 - 240 € 240 - 280 € > 280 €
 Lochside: independent bottlings
 

Lochside
Old Malt Cask 21 years


Age
21 years
Alcohol
50%
Bottler
Douglas Laing
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The nose reveals green apple and cut grass hints, and the palate does not deny the first impression.

This unexpected whisky is very good.

A not very well known whisky from a mothballed then dismantled distillery... One of the few distilleries from the east coast.
This version of this rare whisky is really exceptional. Exceptional because of its alcohol degree (50%). What a freshness. The cut grass smell (or is it cut  seaweed...) prepares the palate to an explosion of tastes. The closing of the distillery is really a shame. For the happy few who can buy this bottle, I would say: do not hesitate. It is a great whisky. Do not drink it too fast, it is becoming a rare bottle...

The second tasting of this exceptional malt just confirmed the excellent impression left by the first one. A very fresh nose, with cut grass hints, followed by an extreme complexity in the palate and characterized by an exceptional freshness. A very great finis. What a wonderful bottle. Really an exceptional one.

The nice and fresh fragrance of cut grass still dominates this exceptional malt. In the palate, the acidity of green apple, mixed to malt gives the impression to have an acid drop in the mouth, without however the sugar characterizing this sweets very often. But this whisky is just a delicacy... A very nice finish, still marked by freshness and very discrete and remote woody touches.

The nose is very fresh, very peppery with discrete hints of pear and dry cut grass, not yet hay... Gentle and pleasant tingling as well. In the palate, first a kind of acid bitterness, very spectacular with at the time refined woody hints, citrus fruit, exotic fruit spices, and developing on  a kind of bitter acidity. Strange trip. The finish is exceptional, lingering, pleasant, marked by the memory of too ripe exotic fruits and all the warmth of an excellent whisky.
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Lochside
Old Malt Cask15 years
1990


Age
15 years
Alcohol
50%
Bottler
Douglas Laing
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Lochside Old Malt Cask 15
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Lochside
Berry's own Selection
1981

Age
23 years
Alcohol
46 %
Bottler
Berry Bros & Rudd
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Lochside Berry Bros & Rudd
A rather fresh nose, with hints of fish and lemon. Some iodine on the background. Pepper and exotic fruits. The mouth is full of exotic fruits, pineapple or mango, a nice complexity, slightly acid notes mixed to chocolate, a touch of smoke and some salt remains. The finish is quite long, warm with a nice memory of exotic fruits.

What a nice spring and bucolic fragrance. Fresh cut grass and a bunch of flowers. A rare freshness and a nice balance completed by a very discrete peppery note.
The same pleasure immediately sweeps this palate. A lot of complex nuances rather close to each other while offering a vast variety of tastes. Still some grass and also some honey but without this sickly aspect it sometimes has, exotic fruits, banana. Just happiness.
The finish is as wonderful as the nose and mouth were. A slight bitterness, good ripe walnut amazingly dominates the finish, while those impressions were not detected at nosing or tasting. This excellent bottle developed quite good since the first opening.
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Lochside
Single Blend
1964-2006


Age
42 years
Alcohol
47.7%
Bottler
Scott's Selection
Particularity

This whisky is a single blend. This means a singlemalt whisky has been mixed with a single grain from the same distillery (Lochside).
In this case, the blending happened in the cask in the very beginning of the riping process, and not at the time of bottling.

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Lochside single blend 1964
An amazing and marvellous nose, perfectly balanced between roasted hazelnuts and sherry. A very fine nose, full of nuances. A delight!
The palate is very complex and pleasantly marked by discrete wood hints, a touch of bitterness and a touch of acidity, just enough to be pleasantly fresh while keeping a very nice maturity. What a balance!
The finish perfectly prolongs the mouth. What a delight, prolonging the mouth and nose pleasure for long minutes.
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Lochside: not in collection

Lochside
Clan Denny
42 y.o.
(Single Grain)


Age
42 years
Alcohol
44.1%
Bottler
Douglas Laing
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The nose is extremely pleasant with smooth notes of spices and mint. Very contrasted, mixing the sweetness of fruit with pepper and cut grass to mint. The palate is pleasant too. A touch of nutty bitterness above ripe fruit notes. The finish is rather long and warm, essentially marked by the memory of wood tastes. This is an excellent bottle

A very nice nose marked by grilled hazelnut, sweet spices and a touch of very pleasant freshness.
The palate also presents a nice contrast and develops from marshmallow to fine wood through nice fruity hints.
The finish is pleasant and slightly bitter while keeping the memory of the pleasant moments in the mouth. It would have been nice if it was a bit longer, and a bit more alcohol could also have enhanced the whole.
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Eastern Highlands n

Eastern Highlands map

Dozens of distilleries have been created in this area during the 19th century. The area is situated at the East of the Highlands, covering the Angusshire, parts of Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and even of Invernesshire. The Spey river has its source in the area.
Currently about half a dozen distilleries are active in the area.

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Click on the map for a list of the distilleries of the area, on the title for further information about the Eastern Highlands area, and if you want to make an "alphabetical journey" through the area, please click on one of the pagode roofs, according to the direction you want to follow

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