Aqvavitae – Loch Lomond 10 Year Single Cask

I am sure many of you know the Lord of the Barflies himself, Mr Roy “Aqvavitae” Duff, and have seen the online buzz around his Single cask release of a special bottle of Loch Lomond whisky.

While Roy was the proud picker of this cask, he is a humble gent who would like to ensure that the credit spans beyond himself. Loch Lomond produced and stored this liquid gold with a big tip of the hat required for the Master Blender Michael Henry. Royal Mile Whiskies who managed the selling & shipping (with the fantastic recycled packaging) of this bottle, including one of the fairest and trouble free purchasing experiences. Then to the barfly Shayla Frahm who created the stunning back label artwork, which has for the first time made me want to store a bottle backwards.

With the whole community feeling, I personally see this bottle as a celebration of the online Whisky community and if that is not a reason to pop a cork and share a glass then, I got many dry months ahead of me.

Last but not yeast let’s talk about the special component in this bottle that added an extra layer of excitement around this release. Chardonnay yeast. Now if you are after the real nitty gritty knowledge of all things fermentation, I struggle to string a sentence together, let alone the brain power for that. Luckily there are a range of Youtubers and blogs out there who can help. All I know if Roy mentioned a while back on his weekly VPubs the excitement caused by an Open Special release of Loch Lomond which was fermented using Chardonnay yeast. Sadly I was unable to try it but the fruit explosion description had me scanning the shops for a lingering bottle.

Then he announced he was releasing his 1st exclusive bottling… a Chardonnay yeast Loch Lomond… a 1st fill Bourbon Barrel 10 Year Old Single Cask at that.

Personally I’m a big fan of cask finishes and often find they can add further depth or even an extra element to the bottle. They can also be used to flood out any weaker spirit and go as far as to overpower any hint of whisky itself. However over the last couple of years I have found there always is something special about a first fill bourbon cask (or sometimes even a refill cask) as it just lets the integrity of the spirit shine through with some lovely smoothed off edges.

Experience

It wouldn’t be a Jeff whisky review if I didn’t talk about how the bottle looks.

This is the first bottle of Loch Lomond that I have seen in the flesh with their new look with the frankly oversized logo. In honesty, it has grown on me and is now heads and shoulders above the previous structure.

Below this stands a fantastic band of glowing information which tells a deeper story like reading the inside of Bilbo Baggins ring. This strip of facts should satisfy any whisky nerd as it proudly lists off: Unpeated, Natural Colour, Cask Strength, Non-Chill filtered. As well as year distilled, number of bottles and cask number. As I discuss in my video (which sadly the audio seems to have cut out at this point) it’s great to see not just only the Aqvavitae logo subtly sitting there but also the Barfly emblem.

I mentioned it briefly above but you cannot not talk about the beautiful artwork on the back of Ben Lomond done by Shayla (Whisky Central). This bottle could only be made all the morning stunning if this artwork spanned the entirety of the bottle.

Nose

On first waft there is the Bourbon barrel sweet and creamy greeting of marshmallows, fudge and crunchy green apples. This ties in with a slight spirt driven new make aroma and a faint hint of hazelnuts. This pick and mix sweetness continues with sherbet lemons, drumsticks and strawberry starbursts. After a while it goes less sugary to a focus on fruit, with raspberries, mangos and grapefruit.

Taste

A fresh fruit filled glass of Prosecco with raspberries, grapes and nectarines all floating in the fizz. Quickly followed by a cheek sucking dryness which demands another swig. After a few sips the effervescence fades into strawberry bon bons, white chocolate and squashies with this underlying burnt charcoal note. A real complex and evolving drop, make sure to clear your schedule to ponder this delightfully sweet beast.

Value for Money

I feel at this point I need to state that this bottle is sold out, just in case you had a desire to hunt down a bottle. After going through his Patrons and then a very short lived public release all 250 bottles are ticked off. It was released on RMW at £69.99  which seems quite cost effective compared to similar single cask bottles with the same specs.

Personally, I feel like I am one of the tightest people in the Whisky game often taking myself months to convince myself a Whisky at £40 is worth it. Yet, even though this is now my most expensive whisky purchase it hits that price point. In facts goes slightly above it.