Lochlea
Lochlea had always been a dairy farm, up until 2006, when Neil and Jen moved here. They farmed pedigree beef cattle until 2014, when they decided that for a farm of this size to be viable, they needed to do something very different.
Barley had historically been grown on the farm, mainly as livestock feed, and so in 2015 they embarked on an experiment: growing 50 acres of malting barley. Working away quietly, learning from our (not too frequent) mistakes, exploring the possibilities and making contacts in the malting industry, gave us the confidence to make a big decision: we’d develop and operate a single malt distillery here at Lochlea.
Lochlea Fallow Edition (Second Crop) 46%
50% First Fill Oloroso/ 50% First Fill Pedro Ximinez
Tasting Note To Follow
Lochlea Our Barley 46%
Ex-Makers Mark Bourbon/ Miguel Martin Sherry Butts and STR wine Barriques Tasted: July 2022 A lovely, sweet, juicy and estery nose with white fruit and barley. Subtle sherried dried fruit and winey dried red fruit notes appear along with some chocolaty tannins, citrus and green apple. A very well balanced nose.
The palate opens with oily barley and the STR cask chocolaty and spicy tannins. Some sweeter barley and American oak vanillins follow along with some well-integrated sherry. Lovely STR spice on the middle with a touch of green apple and marzipan. Good length with a chocolaty, spicy tannin finish.
Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2 60%
Oloroso, Pedro Ximinex & STR casks Tasted: Jul 2024 The nose is extremely intense and very sherried. Treacly PX notes combine with herbal Oloroso, dark/ milk chocolate, raisin, beeswax and toasted oak. Incredibly herbal with late banana, apricot and vanilla ice cream.
The palate is tannic and drying with plenty of offsetting treacle. Oodles of raisinated fruit, baked banana, vanilla ice cream, toffee and spicy, winey fruit. Masked but continuing spicy with lingering STR wine notes.
Water makes the nose a little softer but t’s pretty much the same as it was neat. The palate is less drying, and the water has emphasised the treacle and spice. Minty, mentholated fresh finish.
Lochlea Ploughing Edition (Second Crop) 46%
Ex-Laphroaig Bourbon Barrels. Tasted: March 2024 The obvious slightly medicinal peat kicks things off but that’s quickly followed by estery white fruit, sweet barley, vanilla, grass, bog myrtle and warm apricot. With time some and astringent herbal notes. Overall, it I think it shows a little less peat intensity than the 1st Crop release.
The palate opens with green capcicum, loam, medicinal peat and sweet barley. Hints of vanilla, peat smoke, astringent herbal notes and pulped agave-esque white fruit come through. Lovely intensity and a long, slightly bitter tannin, sooty, smoky, coal dusty finish with lingering barley, salt, barley and returning green pepper.