Royal Lochnagar 16 Year Old 2004 - Diageo Special Releases 2021

This may be spring in the glass, because the release was called 'The Spring Stallion'. This Highlander was matured in both American oak and European refill barrels. Would the horse be in the stables of Balmoral Castle? After all, that is close to the distillery. I'm really looking forward to this, but the price tag is a bummer. Just two years ago I bought the 12-year-old (albeit at drinking strength) in the Games of Thrones series for a 5th of what this one costs. Sigh. The nose is somewhere between savory as of puff pastry and sweet as of summer fruit. Think mandarin, apple and kiwi. In addition, something of a field full of flowers and high grass. For now, my world is not turned upside down, although this smells pretty good. Hey! The stallion arrives on the palate at a canter. Nice and creamy, quite spicy with delicious notes of the oak – you can taste the wood, which makes it slightly dry, but certainly not woody. The fruit now goes more in the bittersweet and sour direction. Agrums with yuzu in the lead. Yes, this is a basket full of citrus. But also a nice mineral touch spreads. Like I have a pebbles in my mouth. Gradually it becomes more and more fascinating. The finish is nice and long, softly peppered but becomes a bit astringent on the deathbed. What a quirky malt. And not comparable to anything I have already tasted from this house. That being said, it's only my eighth Lochnagar.

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