Nose | Palate: Plums and dark berries, dates and cinnamon sticks | Round and dense with gingerbread, fruitcake and sweet blackcurrant.

How it’s made: Matured in a combination of Pedro Ximenez, Oloroso, and Port casks. Natural colour, and non-chill filtered. 

About the maker: Located in the heart of Ayrshire, Lowland. Lochlea had always been a dairy farm until 2006 when Neil and Jen McGeoch moved there. They farmed pedigree beef cattle until 2014, when they decided that for a farm of this size to be viable, they needed to do something very different.

Barley had historically been grown on the farm, mainly as livestock feed, and so in 2015 they embarked on an experiment: growing 50 acres of malting barley. Working under sustainable agriculture, they follows a true “field-to-bottle” approach, growing their own barley and using local water to create single malt Scotch that reflects the land.

Lochlea distillery definitely offers a slightly different take on Lowland whisky. Allowing the fermentation to run a little longer, and taking care with their cut points results in a new make spirit that shows delicate orchard-fruit notes and early maturity. They released their first whisky in January 2022, showcasing impressive quality from the start.