Loch Lomond The Open Edition 2024
Chardonnay Finish Special Edition | 46% ABV
Hole-in-one or Double-bogey?
If you asked a non-Scot to reel off a list of things they associate with Scotland, whisky would no doubt be high on that list. Once they’ve also mentioned kilts, tartan, bagpipes, the Loch Ness monster, Irn-Bru and battered, deep-fried Mars bars, they’ll eventually get to golf.
There’s certainly worse things to be associated with. Amongst the stereotypes here in Wales are daffodils, leeks and very questionable practices involving sheep.
I enjoy a game of golf every now and then, but my handicap would be fairly high if I ever attempted to obtain one. My main handicap is my own ineptitude, but I like to think I get good value for money from every round, such is the number of shots I inevitably have to play; sometimes from the adjacent fairway due to the severity of my slice. It’s never the best moment when I have to pop through the trees and sheepishly apologise to the players on the adjoining hole as I attempt to hack it back in the right direction. It’s all worth it when you hit that one sweet shot and you feel like Tiger Woods in his prime, even if it is only for a few short moments.
However, the reason I bought this whisky had nothing to do with the golf affiliation, but another word on the bottle - Chardonnay. I have had three different bottles of Loch Lomond whisky which were made using Chardonnay wine yeast during the fermentation, and all three have been fantastically good. The Open release from 2020, was the first time I came across it, and I only wish I had picked up a few bottles while I had the chance. It sat on shelves for some time before word got out and suddenly it became impossible to replace without heading to the auctions.
As The Open was cancelled that year, it was a smaller scale release of 3000 bottles and it didn’t contain any of the E150a caramel colourant that we see in this release, and I believe all of the other editions before it. Presumably this is due to the usual golf crowd it is aimed at not being as likely to buy a bottle, and us more enthusiastic whisky fans buying online from specialist retailers were the target market instead.
Thankfully we have had a couple more since thanks to the superb Aqvavitae bottling and a distillery edition release in 2023. Those were very small scale and not available to everyone, so another larger scale release that can stretch further would definitely be welcomed if anybody from Loch Lomond is reading this. If it’s as good as the last one I won’t be waiting quite as long to stock up.
As far as I know this particular bottle doesn’t contain whisky that was fermented using Chardonnay wine yeast, but rather it is a Chardonnay wine cask finish. I’m not expecting to get the same experience as I would find from fermentation with the Chardonnay yeast, but I am curious to see if any of that DNA comes through from the cask, with the wonderful effervescence it creates.
Keep an eye out for forthcoming distillery editions available via the Loch Lomond website, and you might find another Chardonnay wine yeast fermented Loch Lomond in the (very) near future.
The four distillery editions that have been released so far have all been well worth buying, and I have come to the conclusion that I would love all Loch Lomond to be produced using Chardonnay wine yeast and extra long fermentations. Estery fruit and fizz - beautiful! Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be particularly efficient for the distillery to make all the time. When Team Dramface open our own distillery, it will be my first suggestion. We’ll make no money, but the whisky will be great.
Review
Loch Lomond The Open 2024, 152nd Royal Troon Special Limited Edition, NAS, Chardonnay Wine Cask Finish, 46% ABV
£45 and wide availability
The blurb on the Loch Lomond website says this was matured in American oak before being finished in Chardonnay wine casks. I always assume ex-bourbon when they say American oak, but as that variety of oak is also used to mature sherry, it would be nice if they specified further. The colour of the liquid in the image on the Loch Lomond website isn’t representative of what it looks like in the bottle. It’s fairly orange and appears as though a good drop of caramel has been added. Thankfully, it is non-chill filtered.
Nose
Honey, apple skins, apple tarte tatin and vanilla custard, tinned pears in syrup and lemon polish, with fresh white linen sheets and a faint wisp of wood char/smoke.
Palate
A lot of the notes from the nose translate to the palate. Sweet apples and pears, with sour lemon and lime citrus and a sherbet fizz on the tongue. There’s honey, peppery spice and bitter oak char, which is followed by vanilla, dark chocolate and liquorice. The fruity sourness comes back as it finishes – chocolate limes, along with copper coins, cream, coconut and a background of faint, lingering smoke.
The Dregs
Fore-tunately (see what I did there?) despite what looks in the bottle like a fairly heavy hand with the caramel colourant, this is a tasty, easy sipping whisky that I am getting through at a fair rate. The honey, fruit and vanilla notes shine through, with a touch of fizz on the palate which I might be looking for due to the Chardonnay connection, but the more I try it the more convinced I am that it is there; it dances on the tongue. I’m a big fan of the sour fruits I get from Loch Lomond, and they are certainly here.
If I am being picky, I would prefer the charred oak to be less of a factor, but I’m not someone who likes a lot of woody influence in my whisky. It does progress from burnt char into vanilla and dark chocolate, which is rather nice. I am not sure if there is any peated whisky in this vatting, or if the smoke element I am getting is purely from the casks.
The Open Championship is a massive event, and although I am not sure how many people buy this whisky as a direct result of its golf connection, I can see why they need the visual appeal for occasional drinkers who need that deep, rich colour before they will part with their cash. It doesn’t add anything in terms of quality to the liquid, and some would say it even imparts a bitterness that worsens the product. Spirit caramel does taste extremely bitter on its own, so that would make some sense.
I’d love to be able to do a side by side of this whisky before and after the colour was added. Poured blind into coloured Glencairns to mask which is which and then see if there is any perceptible difference to either the flavour or the mouthfeel. Typically, producers would no doubt say there is no difference at all. Wally covered three of these releases in 2022 and touched upon some of these points too.
When it comes to the price of £45, I would say that is a touch high for a young, non-age statement whisky at 46%. I think it should probably be 5 or £10 less. I can still buy the 2023 release on sale at a price below the original £45, which backs that opinion up. The three 12 year old whiskies in the Loch Lomond core range are also available for that price or less, which potentially makes it an even harder sell.
Having said that, I wouldn’t put anybody off buying this bottle. Perhaps not a hole in one, but a well deserved birdie.
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT