Most of what used to be Glenlochy Distillery are now demolished and there are raised vacation flats on the ground and the remaining buildings are used as offices. The distillery had a chequered history with multiple mothballings, different owners and never getting much word of mouth. In 1983, alongside a lot of other distilleries, Glenlochy went out of business and most of the buildings were destroyed in 1992. Although never missed like Brora or Port Ellen Distillery, this peppery and spicy highlander have gained a bit of a following lately. A couple of decades too late, but well deserved in my opinion. Unfortunately there are slim to none chance of a revival of this distillery. In this area of the western highlands, Fort William, there used to be 3 operating distilleries, Nevis, Ben Nevis and Glenlochy, now there's only one left. If you ever have the chance, try some Glenlochy beside some older Ben Nevis, and you'll clearly see some similarities, I guarantee! What's really sad is that all, or at least nearly all output from the distillery went into blending and it first became available as a single malt after 1983, and then both rare and expensive. One of my absolute recommendations to get a sip of before its too late! I've only got five bottlings rom this distillery, but I think it'll be enough for this, very likely to be the last time, I try more than one Glenlochy in one session, but one should never say never.
Glenlochy 17yo 1974-1991 40% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail
The Connoisseurs Choice series is probably your most affordable option when it comes to tracking down whiskies from closed distilleries, but beware, not all the bottlings in this series are containing whisky thats representative of some of the best whisky the distillery had to offer. Some are even far from that. The color on this one is deep golden, most certainly with some E's added. It smells of oaky, spirity, battery acid, burnt sugar, little zing in this one, more like a blend gone bad so far. The taste is sweet, burnt sugar, peppery, chillies, lime zest, morning glory, thai food, chili. I'll add some water now. Now it turns more herbal and peppery, pickled cucumbers, vinegar.
One to take neat, nice young Glenlochy: 6
Glenlochy 27yo 1980-2008 53.9% Signatory Vintage cask#2823 btl.92/231
From a hogshead, presumably an ex-bourbon cask. The color is golden. It smells of spirity, peppery, vanilla, hay, smoky, grapefruit. This is just too raw and young-ish for a 27yo. It's more like a 12-14yo at CS from a tired cask. The taste is sweet, vanilla, jackfruit, coconut milk, banana, sour milk, pretty raw and young-ish still. The finish is zesty, bitter and long. Now lets add some water. And now we're really talking BITTER whisky, vinegar, lime peel, pickles, red onions, grape seeds, grapefruit, it's frankly a bit hard to enjoy if you don't wanna put it under a magnifying glass in a tasting session. Certainly not for everyone.
Like them bitter, please add water, if not, its quite alright neat as well: 4.5
Glenlochy 27yo 1980-2007 58.3% Part Des Anges Closed Distilleries cask#2826
Same age and vintage as the #2826, and not many cask between them either, but a significantly higher %abv on this one. The color is golden. It smells of honey, peppery, ginger, apple cores, oaky, wheat biscuits, mild cheeses, goat cheese, feta. The taste is sweet, drying, gingerbread, cinnamon, black pepper, salty butter, popcorn, vanilla, peanut butter, waxy, vegetable oils, brown sugar, sweet licorice. The finish is long, waxy and peppery. A splendid version which highlights the sweet and peppery style of Glenlochy.
One of the better Glenlochies I've tried: 7.5
Glenlochy 16yo 1977-1994 59% Cadenhead's
A young CS Glenlochy, how rare is that nowadays? I love these old CS Cadenhead's as they're usually very good value for money and often contains whisky from distilleries which are often hard to obtain whisky from. The color is pale yellow. No cask sediments. It smells of honey and wheat beer, soy, buttercups, daffodils, onions, raw bacon, grease, waxy. Floral and meaty style, not an usual one. The taste is very dry, peppery, leather, vinegar, but much more concentrated than the prior ones, this is bitter hardcore Glenlochy. Time for some water. Now it turns even more floral, some rosé water, acrylic paint, grassy, apple cider, really nice now.
One to add water and enjoy in small sips, it's a BIG whisky: 7
Glenlochy 32yo 1980-2012 60.1% Signatory Vintage cask#1759
From a refill butt, and butt matured whiskies do often have a very high strength when compared to the age of the spirit inside. Is it because its bigger than hogsheads, or that they're more often european oak which is a bit tighter than american? Lets just be happy there's still high strength 30-somethings out there. The color is golden. It smells of white wine, rhubarbs, sun-dried tomatoes, peppery, peaty, spirity. This quite nice, but as I've found in some of these Glenlochy's, they're kinds spirity and immature for their age. The taste is bittersweet, grape seeds, dry herbs, red onions, rhubarb, burnt oak, dark chocolate, cornflakes, smoked cheddar, buttery, red wine vinegar, salty. A good one. The finish is bitter and peppery, much like I expected, but there's something honest and charming with these longlasting peppery notes at the end of a good swallow of whisky.
A rich and complex Glenlochy, I'm sad there won't be many more: 7.5
Glenlochy before closing
Glenlochy, flats for rent in 2012
Next tasting: Glen Albyn Distillery
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