Loch Lomond 14 Year Old Whisky

I really enjoyed this. I'm new to drinking whiskey really, and was always confused how people described it as smooth. Well wehmther it's just my palette changing, but this was delicious and smooth.

Nose: Toasted coconut mushrooms (you remember them from when you were a kid surely?) stewed orchard fruit and a hint of peppery spice. A little air offers some citrus peel notes along with that hint of toast or smoke.

Palate: Very smooth sweet creamy arrival, loads of typical Inchmurrin (I've got to stop using that word) notes: toffee apples, peaches, sweetened stewed pears, digestive biscuits and oaky vanilla. As the liquid disappears the spices really come into their own - cinnamon and nutmeg biting at the tongue leaving a citrus fizz. Nice! A little time and air offer liquorice and bitter dark chocolate notes.

Finish: Lingering spiced apples, a hint of smoke and some tropical fruit.

Thoughts: Coming from unpeated barley distilled in straight necked pot stills with a high collection strength this would have been called an Inchmurrin in a past life - the Fruity and Sweet in the new range. But with the spicy kick from the French Limousin Oak finish this whisky is similar to an SMWS release: the 2004 15yo 112.53 "Sophisticated seductive Sazerac cocktail" which also balances fruit notes with spice and bitter citrus.
For all this is distilled from unpeated barley there is a definite smoke note - probably from the toasted casks it's been maturing in. A lovely dram, slightly older than the core range and definitely worth hunting out.

The first nosing is overpowering with citrus. Lemon and orange zest with a little woodiness is all I am getting, it's very one dimensional. First sip there's a sour apple, a lot of spice develops, black pepper and ginger with a little chilli catch. On the finish it is quite bitter and woody, there's a real licorice twang to the finish as well. The finish lingers, but is still extremely bitter and somewhat unpleasant.
Sorry Loch Lomond, not for me this one.