Loch Lomond 23 Year Old 1974

After my very pleasant encounter with Old Rhosdhu 1967 I thought it would be a good idea to find another golden oldie from the versatile Loch Lomond distillery. This one is bottle much younger, at 23 years of age. That means this Loch Lomond has spent an equal amount of time on cask and then bottle. It comes in the same green dumpy bottle as its brother.

Fritters at the fancy fair. That’s the first thing I smell when I put my nose in the glass. In that regard, it is a quite similar to the Old Rhodshu 1967 that I tried a few days ago. Then some apple sauce, papaya and pears, but mostly banana and kiwi. What a pleasant, almost tropical nose.

Unfortunately the promise of the nose is not fulfilled completely on the palate. The body is fine and the strength after all this years is okay. But the tropical fruit needs to make room for nothing but agrum (lemon and grapefruit in the lead) and some pepper. It remains a beautiful malt, don’t get me wrong. A hint of mint keeps it fresh while the ghost of cardboard rears its head.

The finish is medium long with the citrus fruit slowly fading, while the pepper keeps the mouth warm.

The similarity with the Old Rhosdhu 1967 is uncanny. Impressive whisky. Happy to have tried this liquid history.