Lochlea Our Barley Single Malt Scotch Whisky

My suggestion is to read the reviews of Lochlea Sowing Edition and Harvest Edition before this one - there are a few callbacks you’ll want to remember.

It isn’t too long ago that, for all the different distillery characters and regions in Scotland, much of the barley and yeast was the same across the land - yield was the king, not necessarily flavor. The recent surge of locally-sourced barley, testing out different yeasts, and looking for “local” flavors in whiskies is just that: recent.

Lochlea experimented a bit with these ideas, for example first using a blend of Concerto and Laureate barley before settling on Laureate, which gave the barley profile they were looking for. Similarly, multiple yeasts were tried over the first few years, including a dried yeast and a variety from Belgium. Multiple fermentation styles, times, and more were explored.

Over the past year, all of this has been streamlined: one barley varietal, one yeast, one fermentation. Then, we get to the casks.

The Lochlea Harvest Edition First Crop was aged in ex-bourbon, Port, and Oloroso sherry, and the Our Barley is matured in ex-bourbon, sherry, and STR casks - the latter a favorite (and some say invention) of the late Dr. Jim Swan, whose influence is felt in minute details throughout. Hot off my reviews of the Bardstown Bourbon Co. Origin Series, one might expect me to take issue with calling something “Our Barley” then attaching three casks to it…and I’ll own that one. Objectively, I wish they had swapped the process with that for the Sowing Edition, or just called it Our Barley and used the triple casking in a future batch, but it’s also so damn good that I can’t help loving it. So let’s call this one an issue with nomenclature.

In talking with John Campbell, it’s clear that in future releases - if not this one - the clearest expressions of their barley and process will become apparent. In the meantime, this release joins my Lochlea trilogy of Sowing - a “Best First Release of 2022” awardee - and Harvest, a brilliant multi-cask maturation that didn’t overshadow an equally delicious whiskey that’s maturing quickly.

For the rest of the ins and outs of Lochlea, you’ll just have to listen to The Whiskey Ring Podcast episode with John - going live January 18th.

While this bottle was purchased by the author, Lochlea is imported by ImpEx Beverages, a Whiskey Ring Podcast sponsor.

Lochlea Our Barley Single Malt Scotch Whisky: Specs

Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Origin: Lochlea Distillery

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Proof: 92 (46% ABV)

Age: NAS (3+ Years)

Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Lochlea Our Barley Single Malt Scotch Whisky Price: $62.99

No Official Website

Lochlea Our Barley Single Malt Scotch Whisky: Tasting Notes

Eye: Golden straw. Thin rims, slow and thin drops fall straight and narrow.

Nose: The barley is clearly the star, despite the other casks having a solid presence. Bold white oak and bourbon backgrounds. Delicate and elegant, great contrast to the Harvest Edition. Grainy, a deep sniff revealing depth to the cereals. Stays subtle.

Palate: Oily, lemon and grapefruit peel expressed on a cocktail. So mouthfilling and coating, quite mild astringency and just a bit of sherry. This is subtle throughout, taking time to blossom. Mouthfeel is like a blanket, comforting and laying lightly over my whole palate. Balanced, nuanced, to the extent of being too restrained for some.

Finish: Again, subtle, and relatively short - the only downside on this pour. The barley essence continues to be the throughline.

Overall: Some will undoubtedly feel this is too restrained, and I can’t fault them for feeling that way. It’s incredibly nuanced and subtle, an elegant whiskey deserving of some quiet love and attention that shouldn’t be that good at 92º but is.

Final Rating: 7.8

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary

8 | Excellent | Exceptional

7 | Great | Well above average

6 | Very Good | Better than average

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary

4 | Has promise but needs work

1-3 | Let’s have a conversation

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