Spearhead Single Grain

Nose: Restrained vanilla and berries. It reminds me of a vague waft from a coupe of vanilla ice cream topped with a red berry coulis. Palate: Sweet generic mild fruity arrival drifting towards brown sugar or caramel in the development and with a white pepper prickle towards the finish. The texture is watery. Finish: Very short, apart from some lingering pepper spice. A touch sour. Not very interesting – I was hoping for more from Loch Lomond. This is not at all what we usually think of when we hear the words “grain whisky”. Scottish grain is generally based on a wheat or corn mash (often Australian wheat as a matter of fact), but this is 100% malted barley and it is given a long fermentation. If it had been run through a pot still it would be a single malt, but instead it was distilled in a Coffey still which means by law it must be called “single grain”. It is being marketed as a mixing whisky for bar use and is transparently positioned against Monkey Shoulder and Naked Grouse. It's certainly not a sipping whisky. I’d say it has been designed to appeal to the white spirits crowd and to bartenders, but to be honest I was not that impressed by the taste. It's acceptable but I would not recommend it. Instead I’d direct you to Loch Lomond’s stablemate product “Reserve” blended scotch which offers more for about half the price, or to the other two big names in blended malt mentioned above. “Adequate” : 73/100 (2.25 stars)

This is a pretty weird and interesting whisky. Its that kind of whiskey who starts at one place and ends up some where else. Colour: Amontillado sherry to deep copper. A pretty low viscosity and thin legs rushing down verifies the pretty low abv of 43%. The nose: Floral, fresh coriander, acrid yarrow, lavender, rubbed geranium leaves, liniment. The mouth : First sip feels light, medicinal, a bit sharp and maby a bit severe. Im kind of confused. I spinn the glas for some time and takes another sip. And there it is! Light bourbon and black tea notes sucks me right in and spits me out on an ashy field with burned matches. The finish : Ashy and maby some sweet licorice. Earthy and raw harshnes in a way. The deeper you get in your dram the more it grows. Until youre done and the chimney with its brick block is all that is left.

The nose is wonderful poached pears and apples In cinnamon and vanilla. The palate is rich spiced pudding. The finish is chocolate and a little chilies. Add a little water, and the nose stays the same, the palate is gentler and the finish remains chocolatey. I’ll be adding this gem to my regular rotation.

Nose: Summer fruit & berries, warm, floral Palate: Sweet, fruity, brown sugar, lime/sour, treacle Finish: Short finish. Honey, oak, spice There’s a gentleness to this that makes it easy to drink. Overall, it’s a little bit ‘meh’. Not a bad whisky, but not memorable or interesting.

Day 2 2023 Advent Calendar. Fruity Caramel on the nose, but bland flavor.

It’s not bad but it’s not good either. Just eh