Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old

Probably the only distillery that holds an appointment to three deceased monarchs (Victoria, Edward VII, and George V), Royal Lochnagar's history is linked with its neighbor, Balmoral Castle. Apparently, Victoria, after a visit to the distillery, took a liking to the Lochnagar spirit and a royal warrant was granted in short order. However, the Queen's tastes are suspect. As Michael Jackson remarked in his write-up on the distillery in his Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch, the Queen used the malt "to lace her claret, thereby ruining two of the world's greatest drinks."

Color: Full amber (probably not a natural color - identical to Johnnie Walker Black).

Nose: Maybe a vague fruitiness buoyed by some nice malty notes. With time, a distinct grassiness and a squeeze of lemon juice. Caramel. Is that a whiff of smoke? Sulphur late. An interesting nose but still underwhelming.

Palate: Smooth and sweet; almost cloying with an absence of spice. A flabby middle continues the initial taste experience. The dram bitters significantly as the wood takes over (a few tired casks in this batch).

Finish: Falls off the cliff although the wood bitterness hangs around. Bottling at 40% gives this malt hardly a chance to raise itself above mediocrity. To say the undistinguished nose is the highlight of this dram is to underscore its low rating.

A pleasant highland malt, the best I can say for it is it’s unchallenging. Not a great recommendation for a whisky with a royal charter from no lesser heads of state than Queen Victoria, Edward VIII and George V. One assumes the proximity to Balmoral was the draw rather than superlative quality in the product...

The nose is inviting with warm woody smells, vanilla and spice. Not scoring points for complexity or distinctiveness but it’s a pleasant aroma. On the palate it’s medium bodied with sherry flavours dominating, some butter and touches of cinnamon and oak. The finish is better than I was expecting. Too many malts at 40% die short and bitter ends, but this has some sweetness lingering for a reasonable time with malty spicy flavours associated.

Pleasantness is a virtue and not every malt needs to be groundbreaking. Sometimes you just want a nice warming dram and this one fulfils that brief. Maybe that’s why it’s a royal favourite?

when i bought the bottle i had bigger expectations to be honest. But it's just probably me, because i'm always trying to compare it with my favorite one. The fact is it doesn' t dissapoint either. The nose opens up in a floral twist, with a tinny hint of vanilla . The taste is quite light flowerry as well with sone more citrus than the smell and some more flowers. If you keep it in your mouth long enough you will have the desired finish with a hint of lemon grass. It is not spectacular but i belive it is on the right path.:)

I dont know why I ordered this from from TWE, but I thought I had to try it out and I am glad I did. First impression is .. This would be the ideal ladies malt, or an introduction to someone who is new to whisky. The Royal Lochnager 12yo is very delicate, its a simple sweet, honey-ed malt with a very refined long lasting sweet-smokey aftertaste. The nose is wonderful, honey and sweet fruits. Taste is very fruity and easy drinking. TRL is not a complex dram, still it leaves me wandering about all this fruity taste (where the hell does it come from) and wanting more. The finish is very pleasant, leaves a fruity-honey aroma .. no bitterness, after the smokey-sweetness there is a nice neutral oak barrel cent going for ages. I will get another bottle with my next order at TWE .. what a surprise.

RL 12 is very light and smooth, may not be for the fans of the Island malts, there is a just enough depth to keep me interested.

I would say this Dram, make a good mid-day early afternoon sip, not one for a cold winters night.

The nose is gently fruity and sweet - almost like a lighter version of a fruity christmas cake. Just a tingle of spices at the end.

The taste opens with fruity, cakey sweetness and expands with some smoke and a spicy tingle on the tongue that seems to moisten rather than dry. Fairly simple but pleasant. Easy to drink.

The finish is pleasant, sweet and decently smoky. The spice tingles for a decent long time.

This was smokier than I thought it would be, and is a decent dram, but doesn't really knock your socks off. That said, this might be a decent malt to introduce smoky flavours to people who have only had sweet and creamy speysides, sort of a half-way step between the speysides and the Highland Park 12 or the Talisker 10, as they can be a step too far for some.

Like I said, a decent malt, but not something I'll come back to very often.

This whisky is royal. It was queen Victoria's favorite whisky. And well it is surprising. It is first sweet but then changes in a complex flavour which is difficult to describe. Try this one.