Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old – Game of Thrones ‘House Baratheon’

In the very week of the release, rumor had it that this bottle – along with the Clynelish – were the hardest to find, for they were released in smaller numbers. Result: this 50 EUR bottle quickly changed hands on the secondary market for double, triple the price or more (I even saw one in auction selling for 350 EUR, go figure). Was this only meant to distract people from the fact that it is actually just the regular Royal Lochnagar 12 in Game of Thrones livery? I comfort myself with the thought that I had not yet tried the malt.

Spring fresh nose on apples, candied oranges, melon and freshly cut grass. Vanilla and barley sugar. Sweet and completely devoid of spices. Fairly simple and yet… I quite like it.

Oh, boy, this arrival is truly subpar. Watery almost. Next to the apples and citrus, I also get hints of pineapple, yoghurt with some pear and honey. It has some green herbs in there as well. Some plant roots. Drying oak. Late caramel. Becomes better from the second sip forward, but never blows you away.

Only in the rather short finish do I get a bit of pepper. But the emphasis is on vanilla. Make that custard.

Fairly simply, but pleasant enough Lochnagar, but it could have used a little more power and body.

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