Third Crop official release | 46% ABV

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A fruity and creamy summer dram*

The peat cheat?

I’ll be honest about my prior experience of Lochlea; up to this point it’s been fairly limited.

I tried the Our Barley release not long after it first became available and thought it was fine, but nothing to get too excited about. I talked about new distillery apathy in my last review when I discovered Circumstance in England, so I guess I don’t need to beat that drum too much further today, but when we have so much choice from more established distilleries at older ages, spending the same money on three to five year old whisky rarely computes. I’d rather wait and try it when it comes of age. There is an element of curiosity to try the new thing, but ultimately, where’s the rush?

Having said that, out of all the new distilleries that have come online in recent years, Lochlea does strike me as one of the more promising ones that I do want to connect with. They grow their own barley at the distillery and the casks mature in their own warehouses on site. The only missing part of the puzzle is the malting itself, which is mostly done at Bairds, but plans are in place for it to be 100% floor malted at Lochlea by next year, with a bottling hall completing the picture and resulting in a single-site operation from start to finish.

I believe Ballindalloch is the only distillery doing that at the moment and I am hearing lots of good things regarding their whisky. But, as mentioned, their pricing has put me off buying a bottle. The cheapest I can find is north of £80 for an eight year old at 46%. Sorry, but that’s too much to get this whisky drinker excited.

That is one of the great things about Lochlea – their prices. They are releasing their 46% core offerings at around the £45-52 mark, with a cask strength at £65. That’s very much in the same ballpark as other newer distilleries such as Raasay, Ardnamurchan, Glasgow and Torabhaig, and it’s no surprise they are also the ones getting plenty of attention amongst enthusiasts.

As well as the price, there is another common thread with those aforementioned distilleries, and it’s the use of peat. Glasgow’s core range isn’t all peated, but when I cast my mind back to when they released their first whiskies, it was the peated that made people sit up and take notice. Since then the unpeated has become a little more mature, but it takes time and I would say from my experience the bottles with a peat influence work better than the others.

I am of the opinion that the new distilleries not using any peat are finding it tougher to find a place in our hearts and in our glasses. The peat is adding an extra dimension that makes the young spirit much more interesting. Would the new five year old Ardnahoe have gone down so well if it had been unpeated? Youthful peated spirit simply works and it’s a big advantage.

Lochlea, Clydeside and Nc’Nean don’t use peat in their whiskies and I would argue they are not quite making the same impact as yet. Kingsbarns is another that is getting there now it is reaching maturity, but it has taken time. I am basing this theory on what I have tasted from some of these distilleries, but even more so the wider community sharing their whisky on social media and what I see our writers at Dramface buying and reviewing. If you are starting a new distillery in 2024 and beyond, which you’d have to be half mad to do the way the market is currently heading, most would suggest using peat if you plan to release at a young age.

Here in the UK, the whisky market has been slowing down for some months and it doesn’t look like it’ll pick up any time soon. With a 10% increase in the price cap of our energy bills from October and our new prime minister already painting a bleak picture of a “painful budget” this Autumn, there is little to suggest that downward trend won’t continue - in the UK at least.

Increased costs are likely to be a factor for distillers too, who may need to pass on that on to the customers already seeing their disposable income dwindling. With Makmyra filing for bankruptcy and Penderyn halting production at one of their three distilleries, we are starting to see signs of just how tough the market is becoming. It is unlikely they will be the only ones suffering right now.

News broke in recent weeks that distillery manager John Campbell was leaving Lochlea after just three years in the role, having been at Laphroaig previously for almost three decades. From the statement John made regarding his departure it sounds like he has got the distillery into a great place and is simply wanting to move on to a new challenge, but it was a surprise to many that his tenure was so short.

Dramface has reviewed three bottles of Lochlea up to this point, the first release, a first crop of sowing and a first crop of the fallow seasonal release. The two seasonal releases both scored a 5/10, with the first release getting two 4’s and a 5/10. All of which I believe were three year old whiskies.

They are one of the many new distilleries who have felt the need to release their whiskies early, which was likely necessary to bring in revenue after incurring very expensive start-up costs. Others have been able to wait thanks to having existing revenue streams such as an independent bottling business or investors willing to play a longer game.

It’s a risky strategy to release young. If the whisky isn’t quite ready you run the risk of disappointed customers becoming wary of future releases and potentially not returning at all. As you can see from the above reviews, the three year old releases showed promise, but there’s clearly room for improvement.

Review 1/2 - Ramsay

Lochlea, Harvest Edition, Third Crop, 8,000 bottles, 46% ABV
£45-50 and widely available. This bottle provided by Lochlea.

Lochlea core range consists of their regular Our Barley release, the batch released cask strength and the four seasonal editions called Sowing, Ploughing, Fallow and Harvest, the latter of which we are reviewing today. Each of these seasonal releases have been a year older than the previous, which must mean we have a five year old whisky here. The range is coming to an end this year and it will be interesting to see what the plans are for the line-up going forward. I think it could do with being a little more streamlined.

The third crop of the Harvest release uses a combination of three cask types – bourbon, oloroso and port. It is bottled at 46%, non-chill filtered, natural colour and there are 8000 bottles available worldwide.

Wally was offered these bottles for review and he diverted them on to both myself and Gilbert for this buddy up review, without obligation.

Nose

Balsamic coated strawberries, sour plum, and lashings of vanilla cream, with white sliced bread, cocoa powder, copper coins, wood varnish and a tiny suggestion of rubber in the background.

Palate

A similar story on the palate, but less sharp acidity and more sweet. Strawberries and cream, apple cider lolly, light peppery spice, milk chocolate, espresso and cask char bringing in a bitterness that works well with the sweeter elements. It’s a little bread-y and yeasty too. The finish is a continuation of the uber creaminess of this dram and includes some sour orchard fruit notes, but it doesn’t hang around too long before it has gone.

The Dregs

Strawberries and cream - they should have served this at Wimbledon! It’s a fruity, juicy, creamy and easy drinking dram that is very pleasant to sit and sip. Put it in the middle of a table with a group of friends and it would be a real crowd pleaser that would be gone in no time. It’s not the most complex of whiskies, but that isn’t always what you need when you are kicking back with a dram. It would probably work well over ice or in cocktails too.

Score: 6/10 RT

Review 2/2 - Gilbert

Lochlea, Harvest Edition, Third Crop, 8,000 bottles, 46% ABV
£45-50 and widely available. This bottle provided by Lochlea.

The beauty of whisky is how it can transport us to random memories. Or possibly generate false memories of moments you feel you might have experienced. Fortunately I have the photos to help prove it is not déjà vu at play.

My wife and I moved in together almost ten years ago and this dram took me straight back to those simpler, young adult days. Our feet on the freshly cut grass, warm summer sun and a freshly chopped fruit salad shared between us on wobbly metal garden chairs. Somehow they are still holding us up today. Regardless of the actual liquid, I’m grateful for the flash back. But now to the actual liquid…

Score 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Summer simplicity in a bottle*

Nose

The port notes feel very prevalent with bursts of ripe plums and freshly baked strawberry jam tarts taking the forefront. Sour green apple sweets and a slight tint of lime for good measure. After a moment a faint Nutella - chocolate and hazelnut spread for those who have never experienced the sugar-filled joy - appears which I would put down to the oloroso influence.

Palate

Taken aback with how thin the texture is following an impressive viscosity in the glass it feels a very “sessionable” whisky, which would be enjoyed responsively of course. There’s a bit of dry pepper at the front which is then overpowered with a flood of fruits. From pears to apples, strawberries to peaches there is quite a range of sweet fruits floating around. I feel like I have to draw the connection to pimms, just missing the cucumber slice floating in my glencairn. After returning to a second glass in the same sitting, I start to notice a slight metallic edge lingering at the back.

The soft finish fades away quickly just like our British summer. I listen to the rain banging the window in the background, as if to prove my point.

The Dregs

I find myself reaching for the lighter flavours and lower ABVs over the warmer months which is where I would put this Lowland release. Shame it is hitting the shelves a couple months too late here. Either way, while the thinner texture doesn’t quite represent the non chill filtered 46% it still manages to carry plenty of flavour.

A real stark contrast to the slap in the face from the powerful cask strength which was the last pour of Lochlea to pass my lips prior. With that cask strength excluded, this release slots in nicely with the integrity forward softer selection released by Lochlea.

With this positive final release of the Harvest range I am looking forward to seeing the future of this distillery.

Score: 6/10 GG

The Final Dregs

I think you’ll agree there are plenty of similarities with mine and Gilbert’s thoughts on this whisky, which is reassuring when your assessment can be a deciding factor over whether somebody spends their hard earned money on a bottle. At the price point I couldn’t put you off, should these tasting notes sound up your street.

I’m fascinated to discover how the spirit develops in years to come, particularly once they are malting all of their own barley. A small percentage of their barley is floor malted already, and John Campbell has described this as having more viscosity and oiliness. In that case, moving to 100% floor malting can only improve the end product.

Lochlea’s orchard fruit forward, elegant, lowland style of whisky that they are striving for is always likely to need more time to mature and really hit its stride, but I would say the signs for the future are positive.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on Lochlea and their whiskies in the comments below. Do you have a favourite release?

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT

Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.