Earlier this year we were fortunate enough to sit down with master blender John Campbell and taste though some great single malts from this impressive young distillery.<\/p>\n
![\"Lochlea](\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Lochlea-Master-of-Malt-exclusive-1024x775.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Serious Burns connections<\/strong><\/h5>\nRobert Burns is a big deal in <\/span>Scotch whisky<\/span><\/a>. On Burns Night, we salute the literary legend with a dram, some of his most famous works either reference or are based on the water of life, and there are brands created in his honour. If you had a Scotch whisky distillery that could claim a connection to Robert Burns, you would imagine they would try to milk that for all it\u2019s worth.<\/span><\/p>\nLochlea Distillery<\/span><\/a> has such a connection. The <\/span>Lowland whisky<\/span><\/a> makers are based on an Ayrshire farm that Robert Burns\u2019s father worked at and that the bard once called home. He toiled the very soil that the barley used to make Lochlea whisky grows on today, from 1777 until his father\u2019s death in 1784.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nYet, in nearly an hour of presentation on two Lochlea products with master blender John Campbell, he was hardly mentioned. The truth is, as compelling and lucrative as that history might be to lean on, the whisky production at Lochlea is just too damn interesting. Burns takes a backseat to barley in this tale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Lochlea](\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Lochlea-Distillery.jpg\")
The beautiful Lochlea Distillery in Ayrshire<\/p><\/div>\n
The story of Lochlea Distillery<\/b><\/h5>\n
Lochlea was a cattle farm when Neil McGeoch acquired it in 2006. But at 222 acres there was potential for more, and a need to establish a more viable operation. The answer for Lochlea was barley, which was grown on this land before to feed livestock. McGeoch decided to plant 50 acres back in 2015 with the aim of creating whisky. Experiments were undertaken, lessons were learned, and contacts were established.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBy 2017, the former piggery, byre, and midden in the heart of the farm steading were being converted into a distillery. The cattle sheds were being repurposed into bonded warehouses. Licenses were secured in 2018. A \u00a36m investment was completed. And Lochlea told\u2026 nobody. The operation continued quietly in the background. It was so under the radar that it was the only operating distillery in Scotland not included in The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2021.<\/span><\/p>\nThen, on Burns Night 2022, Lochlea launched its first whisky. Since then the brand has gotten a little louder, establishing a consistently available core product, Lochlea Our Barley, launching seasonal selections based on its agricultural approach, and a new cask strength series this year. It\u2019s emerged as one of the most interesting new independently-owned producers on the Scotch whisky scene. Early reviews of the liquid are promising. Legends of the game have flocked to be a part of the process (David Ferguson from Beam Suntory, Malcolm Rennie from Bruichladdich and Ardbeg, and the aforementioned Campbell from Laphroaig). Lochlea revels in its complete creative control and full traceability from field to cask.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Lochlea](\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Lochlea-Distillery-washbacks.jpg\")
The process of making Lochlea whisky is all about creating light, fruity spirit<\/p><\/div>\n
How is Lochlea whisky made?<\/b><\/h5>\n
Those fields are full of laureate barley, grown just 150 yards from the distillery. The resulting draff is used to feed local cattle and its water is sourced on-site. The finest of Ayrshire\u2019s natural resources is showcased in every bottle, while the distillery\u2019s carbon footprint is kept to a minimum. Currently, Lochlea can make 180,000 litres of alcohol per annum, and there would need to be more farm before there could be more whisky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe idea is to create a light, elegant spirit that showcases the flavour of its raw material \u2013 not that the distillery seems to be interested in invoking notions of provenance or terroir in its marketing. There\u2019s also an emphasis on generating ripe, bright fruity flavours in the new make. That means creating a slowly extracted, crystal clear wort, which is then elevated by a long fermentation to create an estery wash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThere are three long (116 hours) and two short fermentations in traditional wooden Douglas fir washbacks with two specifically selected yeasts. Campbell says that generally subtler changes happen when using wooden washbacks compared to some of the other processes in the production of single malt, but they all matter. \u201cWooden washbacks hold in some bacterias which will produce more lactic acid which generates sweet, fruity, and buttery notes,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\nA slow distillation process in pot stills made to spec in Scotland with high cut points then follows. \u201cDistilling slowly preserves and enhances the ester production from the fermentations and this gives us a much fruitier, more congener-heavy spirit,\u201d Campbell reveals. \u201cThe high cut points also enhance this to ensure that the heavier oily and grassy flavours don\u2019t then dominate the new spirit.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe former cattle sheds now hold warehousing space where Lochlea whisky is matured on-site in a variety of casks, predominantly bourbon (Maker\u2019s Mark is a favourite), oloroso sherry, Pedro Xim\u00e9nez, and STRs (shaved, toasted, re-charred). There are some more experimental varieties too, like some peated casks. Lochlea uses racked warehouse storage because it ensures the best airflow around casks, flexibility for moving and sampling, more surface area contact and fewer losses than palletising, according to Campbell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Lochlea](\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Lochlea-Distillery-warehouse-casks.jpg\")
Lochlea Distillery’s warehouses were former cattle sheds<\/p><\/div>\n
The future of Lochlea<\/b><\/h5>\n
Alongside the core range, Lochlea creates limited edition selections that celebrate its agricultural heritage, like its <\/span>Sowing Edition<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>Ploughing Edition<\/span><\/a>, but long term the brand will move to age statements. The big question going forward is how to preserve the distillery character which is so rooted in its raw materials when the product is ageing for longer and has more cask contact. Campbell says the base flavours will remain the same, they will just develop further and become richer and interact with other base flavours more, producing much more depth in the liquid.<\/span><\/p>\nAfter becoming Laphraoig\u2019s longest-serving distillery manager there was some surprise when Campbell joined Lochlea, but he was invigorated by the opportunity. \u201cIt was the opposite in all ways to what I was doing at Laphroaig, and so it provided a huge personal challenge for me which I was ready for.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI can see the appeal. The future of Lochlea is very bright. There are plans for a visitor facility, but more excitingly for floor maltings and a bottling hall in order to make it a true one-site whisky maker. It wasn\u2019t gin or tourists that built Lochlea, the brand followed something closer to the Daftmill model of establishing a whisky distillery, but one that\u2019s getting more liquid into people\u2019s hands. This isn\u2019t a whisky for collecting or auction markets.<\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s for drinking. Good thing it is very drinkable, then. Lochlea makes a pleasant, approachable spirit. In both Our Barley and Cask Strength – Batch 1 I felt things were a little raw, and that the whisky will truly shine around the eight to ten-year mark, but there\u2019s still so much to credit this spirit with. The bright fruit and rich barley core of the spirit is beautiful and it’s complemented \u2013 not concealed \u2013 by the cask selection. Burns would probably have something more poetic to say about Lochlea whisky. The best I can do is a tasting note. Sl\u00e0inte mhath.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat does Lochlea whisky taste like?<\/b><\/h5>\n![\"Lochlea](\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/lochlea-our-barley.jpg\")
Lochlea Our Barley<\/p><\/div>\n
Lochlea Our Barley<\/a> tasting note<\/b><\/h5>\nLochlea Our Barley is the first single malt to join the distillery’s core range. Matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, as well as shaved, toasted, and re-charred barriques, the whisky was bottled up without any added colour, or chill filtration. Campbell tells us that this one is consistently getting older, so every drop in here is at least three-and-a-half years old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nNose: <\/b>Barley and orchard fruit at the core of this, with pear drops, Granny Smith apples, Harvesters Chewee, white wine, and acacia honey.<\/span><\/p>\nPalate: <\/b>Juicy and full-bodied, with notes of Scotch tablet, syrupy pear, liquorice, toasted almond, vanilla, macadamia nuts, cream soda, and marmalade.<\/span><\/p>\nFinish: <\/b>Waxy orange peel and STR spice.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Lochlea](\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/lochlea-cask-strength-batch-one.jpg\")
Lochlea Cask Strength Batch One<\/p><\/div>\n
Lochlea Cask Strength – Batch 1<\/a> – <\/b>tasting note<\/b><\/h5>\n
Lochlea Distillery<\/span><\/a> has such a connection. The <\/span>Lowland whisky<\/span><\/a> makers are based on an Ayrshire farm that Robert Burns\u2019s father worked at and that the bard once called home. He toiled the very soil that the barley used to make Lochlea whisky grows on today, from 1777 until his father\u2019s death in 1784.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, in nearly an hour of presentation on two Lochlea products with master blender John Campbell, he was hardly mentioned. The truth is, as compelling and lucrative as that history might be to lean on, the whisky production at Lochlea is just too damn interesting. Burns takes a backseat to barley in this tale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The beautiful Lochlea Distillery in Ayrshire<\/p><\/div>\n Lochlea was a cattle farm when Neil McGeoch acquired it in 2006. But at 222 acres there was potential for more, and a need to establish a more viable operation. The answer for Lochlea was barley, which was grown on this land before to feed livestock. McGeoch decided to plant 50 acres back in 2015 with the aim of creating whisky. Experiments were undertaken, lessons were learned, and contacts were established.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By 2017, the former piggery, byre, and midden in the heart of the farm steading were being converted into a distillery. The cattle sheds were being repurposed into bonded warehouses. Licenses were secured in 2018. A \u00a36m investment was completed. And Lochlea told\u2026 nobody. The operation continued quietly in the background. It was so under the radar that it was the only operating distillery in Scotland not included in The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n Then, on Burns Night 2022, Lochlea launched its first whisky. Since then the brand has gotten a little louder, establishing a consistently available core product, Lochlea Our Barley, launching seasonal selections based on its agricultural approach, and a new cask strength series this year. It\u2019s emerged as one of the most interesting new independently-owned producers on the Scotch whisky scene. Early reviews of the liquid are promising. Legends of the game have flocked to be a part of the process (David Ferguson from Beam Suntory, Malcolm Rennie from Bruichladdich and Ardbeg, and the aforementioned Campbell from Laphroaig). Lochlea revels in its complete creative control and full traceability from field to cask.<\/span><\/p>\n The process of making Lochlea whisky is all about creating light, fruity spirit<\/p><\/div>\n Those fields are full of laureate barley, grown just 150 yards from the distillery. The resulting draff is used to feed local cattle and its water is sourced on-site. The finest of Ayrshire\u2019s natural resources is showcased in every bottle, while the distillery\u2019s carbon footprint is kept to a minimum. Currently, Lochlea can make 180,000 litres of alcohol per annum, and there would need to be more farm before there could be more whisky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The idea is to create a light, elegant spirit that showcases the flavour of its raw material \u2013 not that the distillery seems to be interested in invoking notions of provenance or terroir in its marketing. There\u2019s also an emphasis on generating ripe, bright fruity flavours in the new make. That means creating a slowly extracted, crystal clear wort, which is then elevated by a long fermentation to create an estery wash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are three long (116 hours) and two short fermentations in traditional wooden Douglas fir washbacks with two specifically selected yeasts. Campbell says that generally subtler changes happen when using wooden washbacks compared to some of the other processes in the production of single malt, but they all matter. \u201cWooden washbacks hold in some bacterias which will produce more lactic acid which generates sweet, fruity, and buttery notes,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n A slow distillation process in pot stills made to spec in Scotland with high cut points then follows. \u201cDistilling slowly preserves and enhances the ester production from the fermentations and this gives us a much fruitier, more congener-heavy spirit,\u201d Campbell reveals. \u201cThe high cut points also enhance this to ensure that the heavier oily and grassy flavours don\u2019t then dominate the new spirit.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The former cattle sheds now hold warehousing space where Lochlea whisky is matured on-site in a variety of casks, predominantly bourbon (Maker\u2019s Mark is a favourite), oloroso sherry, Pedro Xim\u00e9nez, and STRs (shaved, toasted, re-charred). There are some more experimental varieties too, like some peated casks. Lochlea uses racked warehouse storage because it ensures the best airflow around casks, flexibility for moving and sampling, more surface area contact and fewer losses than palletising, according to Campbell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lochlea Distillery’s warehouses were former cattle sheds<\/p><\/div>\n Alongside the core range, Lochlea creates limited edition selections that celebrate its agricultural heritage, like its <\/span>Sowing Edition<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>Ploughing Edition<\/span><\/a>, but long term the brand will move to age statements. The big question going forward is how to preserve the distillery character which is so rooted in its raw materials when the product is ageing for longer and has more cask contact. Campbell says the base flavours will remain the same, they will just develop further and become richer and interact with other base flavours more, producing much more depth in the liquid.<\/span><\/p>\n After becoming Laphraoig\u2019s longest-serving distillery manager there was some surprise when Campbell joined Lochlea, but he was invigorated by the opportunity. \u201cIt was the opposite in all ways to what I was doing at Laphroaig, and so it provided a huge personal challenge for me which I was ready for.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I can see the appeal. The future of Lochlea is very bright. There are plans for a visitor facility, but more excitingly for floor maltings and a bottling hall in order to make it a true one-site whisky maker. It wasn\u2019t gin or tourists that built Lochlea, the brand followed something closer to the Daftmill model of establishing a whisky distillery, but one that\u2019s getting more liquid into people\u2019s hands. This isn\u2019t a whisky for collecting or auction markets.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s for drinking. Good thing it is very drinkable, then. Lochlea makes a pleasant, approachable spirit. In both Our Barley and Cask Strength – Batch 1 I felt things were a little raw, and that the whisky will truly shine around the eight to ten-year mark, but there\u2019s still so much to credit this spirit with. The bright fruit and rich barley core of the spirit is beautiful and it’s complemented \u2013 not concealed \u2013 by the cask selection. Burns would probably have something more poetic to say about Lochlea whisky. The best I can do is a tasting note. Sl\u00e0inte mhath.<\/span><\/p>\n Lochlea Our Barley<\/p><\/div>\n Lochlea Our Barley is the first single malt to join the distillery’s core range. Matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, as well as shaved, toasted, and re-charred barriques, the whisky was bottled up without any added colour, or chill filtration. Campbell tells us that this one is consistently getting older, so every drop in here is at least three-and-a-half years old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nose: <\/b>Barley and orchard fruit at the core of this, with pear drops, Granny Smith apples, Harvesters Chewee, white wine, and acacia honey.<\/span><\/p>\n Palate: <\/b>Juicy and full-bodied, with notes of Scotch tablet, syrupy pear, liquorice, toasted almond, vanilla, macadamia nuts, cream soda, and marmalade.<\/span><\/p>\n Finish: <\/b>Waxy orange peel and STR spice.<\/span><\/p>\n Lochlea Cask Strength Batch One<\/p><\/div>\nThe story of Lochlea Distillery<\/b><\/h5>\n
How is Lochlea whisky made?<\/b><\/h5>\n
The future of Lochlea<\/b><\/h5>\n
What does Lochlea whisky taste like?<\/b><\/h5>\n
Lochlea Our Barley<\/a> tasting note<\/b><\/h5>\n
Lochlea Cask Strength – Batch 1<\/a> – <\/b>tasting note<\/b><\/h5>\n