Oldest Loch Lomond single malt released

Loch Lomond Distillery is celebrating the release of its oldest single malt whisky.

Limited to 60 decanters worldwide, the Loch Lomond 50 Years Old celebrates generations of dedication and craftsmanship and marks the pinnacle of the Loch Lomond Whiskies collection.

Loch Lomond 50 Years Old is bottled at 46.2% ABV and has been maturing, first in American oak hogshead and then in European oak hogshead for half a century at Loch Lomond Distillery in Alexandria. 

The distinctive nature of the Loch Lomond 50 Years Old is testament to the innovative distillation techniques, suggests John Peterson, production director at Loch Lomond Distillery: “Our straight neck pot stills were unique in 1966 when they were first installed, and they are still unique to this day, providing us with greater control over the quality and flavour profile of the spirit.”

Master blender, Michael Henry says: “The expectations are high when you are working with a whisky as special and scarce as this and it came with great responsibility, but selecting and perfecting this single malt was a true honour.  Our stills are synonymous with the fruity notes they give to the whisky. The Loch Lomond 50 Yeas Old has been granted the time to truly concentrate that character, resulting in a rich, tropical fruit flavour.”

Each hand-blown crystal decanter encasing the Loch Lomond 50 Year Old is presented in a bespoke chest created by ‘architects of objects’, Method Studio in Scotland. The husband and wife team, Callum Robinson and Marisa Giannasi drew inspiration from the drama, romance and kinetic energy of Loch Lomond itself to create ‘The Tempest Chest.’

Hand-shaped in solid oak, leather lined and indigo-dyed until almost black in colour, the tactile, sculpted surface of each individually numbered chest is suggestive of water at twilight, with only a solid brass key visible from the exterior. Inside, the bottle of Loch Lomond 50 Year Old rests upon sculpted oak waves, alongside not an ordinary whisky miniature, but a solid turned brass vial, lined in glass and reminiscent of the straight neck pot still. 

Callum Robinson, creative director at Method Studio, says: “There are few distilleries named after a body of water as opposed to a place, and we drew great inspiration from Scotland’s most romantic, dramatic and historic loch. The Loch Lomond 50 Years Old is borne out of a truly mystical place of wood, fire, water and metal and our aim was to harness this energetic, elemental group of ingredients to create something unique, and worthy of its heritage.

“Each chest is designed to capture, in a three dimensional object, the mood and movement of moonlight dancing on tempestuous water. This is mirrored in the language of the hand-blown decanter and its beautifully faceted hand-cut base, perfectly binding the two together. It was a privilege to create a vessel to house something so precious.”

Colin Matthews, CEO of Loch Lomond Group, says: “For 50 years the Loch Lomond Distillery has been one of Scotland’s best kept secrets. With the launch of the 50 Year Old single malt, we are putting Loch Lomond firmly on the Scotch whisky map and we are proud to become one of a very select few distilleries in the world which have released a 50 year old whisky.”  

The Loch Lomond 50 Year Old limited edition is priced at £12,000 and will be available to buy in the UK at specialists including The Whisky Shop, The Whisky Exchange, Royal Mile Whiskies and Master of Malt from December 2017. It will also be on offer in global markets, including Singapore, Taiwan, China, Japan and travel retail.

9 October 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor