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Nose: licorice, honey, peach, apricot, molasses, vanilla, hint of citrus and a bit astringent
Palate: full bodied, yellow fruits, malty, vanilla and spices.
Finish: peppery, warm, spicy bourbon notes, a bit of salt and quite long lasting. At the end a bit of yellow fruits reappear.

Excellent stuff for a first release, it needs the 46%, I will certainly pick up another bottle of a subsequent release.

Issue price in NL was 70€ for me. Don't pay anymore than around that amount, not worth to fill pockets of flippers, marketplace is already infested by them. Just wait for the next release and pay a normal amount of money.

Official Tasting Notes:

"For us, on the nose it is bursting with fresh orchard fruit and zesty orange, with vanilla fudge and a lovely cereal note in the background. The palette is rich and sweet with burnt caramel and hazelnuts with a medium mouth coating to finish while still holding on to that fruit."

Issue Price January 2022: ~55,00 GBP

(Source: https://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/lochlea-inaugural-single-malt-46-70cl/)

terrible taste. Yes , the whisky is young , but there are many young bottlings on the market at the moment , some good ones , but this one is one of the really bad bottlings . can only get better .

Aroma
Light fruitiness, malty, sweetish, vanilla

taste
Sharpness, sweetish, more sharpness and almost boring, vanilla and caramel sweetness, a bit malty, spicy and sharpness again and again

finish
Short, watery, spicy, astringent

It's nice and drinkable for starters, but this whisky doesn't feel "finished" nor do I understand the 90's reviews here.

Lochlea First Release, 3 years, 46% alc. Original bottling (2022). Aging: Bourbon casks (First Fill from Maker's Mark) and sherry casks (Pedro Ximenez)

Nose: Clear fruit aromas. Ripe banana and apple compote, juicy apricots and some malt sugar. In addition, very delicate caramel aromas and a hint of peach ice tea. After a little time, a fragrant flower meadow is added, all in all harmonious.

Palate: Mirabelle plums and lime blossom honey, some malt and some vanilla. On the palate, the Lochlea now takes a less fruity but still sweet path. Although I taste peaches and apricots again, mineral and earthy aromas follow. Briefly I have to think of blackboard chalk, then dry oats. Also some salt and spices, including cloves and nutmeg.

Finish: Rather short, a mixture of nose and palate, i.e. slightly spicy, malty and pleasantly fruity.

Conclusion: The First Release is a three-year-old talent with a lot of potential. If Lochlea continues like this, we will probably be able to expect exciting and diverse bottlings. You shouldn't overestimate this young thing - but he already has the appropriate disposition. 82/100 points (2022)

www.notesofmalt.com