LOCHLEA DISTILLERY LAUNCHES ITS LATEST SEASONAL RELEASE

The Ayrshire based Lochlea Distillery, has today announced the launch of first expression from the final part of their Seasonal trilogy series.

Lochlea Sowing Edition – Third Crop (46% ABV) is a limited-edition single malt Scotch whisky, which has been matured in ex-Bourbon barrels.

Lochlea Sowing Edition - Third Crop

The multi-award-winning grain-to-cask distillery celebrates the farming calendar with the four Seasonal releases during the year, each one showcasing a different side to Lochlea’s house style of spirit.

The four whiskies in the First Crop were released from early 2022, followed by Second Crop kicking off last spring with Sowing, ending with Ploughing in March earlier this year.  Once the Third Crop has been released this year, there will be no more Seasonal releases from the distillery.

Sowing marks the point of the year that the new barley crop is sown around the distillery on the farm – the start of spring and new life appearing. This spring will be the 8th year of barley grown on the farm at Lochlea.

All the casks that have gone into the final recipe have been hand-picked by John Campbell, Lochlea’s Production Director, and his team at the distillery. With each new Crop, the whiskies in the Seasonal range are getting older, with this latest release being nearly the same age as the recently released and sold-out Lochlea 5 Year Old.

Commenting on the launch, John Campbell, said: “Our third and final Crop of the Seasonal releases will offer whisky lovers the chance to taste our maturing limited-edition releases and even compare them with the past two Crops, so they can see how our whiskies are evolving. The Seasonal Editions have been a brilliant platform for us to showcase our whisky in different cask types and highlight the farming calendar.”

 He went onto say: “One of the main differences between our last Sowing Edition (Second Crop) and our new Third Crop is when the spirit was distilled. Second Crop was distilled in warmer months, whereas the new release in colder months. Distillation during warmer periods results in more of a stewed fruit flavour, whereas in the colder months we see much more of a crisp, fresh fruit flavour – in the case of this spirit, delicious green apple and pear.”

Lochlea Sowing Edition – Third Crop, will be available from specialist retailers from April 25th, for a RRP of £51.50.

 

Posted by Steve Rush

GORDON & MACPHAIL LAUNCHES ITS LATEST MR GEORGE LEGACY SERIES BOTTLING

Gordon & MacPhail, has today announced the launch of the fourth release in its annual Mr George Legacy Series.

Gordon & MacPhail - Mr George Legacy 1958 from Glen Grant Distillery (56.5% ABV) is a 65 Year Old single cask, single malt Scotch whisky, which was matured in a first-fill Sherry cask.

Gordon & MacPhail - Mr George Legacy 1958 from Glen Grant Distillery

This latest release, which honours Mr George Urquhart, a member of the second generation of the company’s owning family and the man who helped bring single malt whisky to the world, was laid down to mature by ‘Mr George’, as he was known to those who knew him best, in a single cask no.3818.

This fourth edition’s packaging and support campaign is themed around having the courage of one’s convictions, symbolised by ‘The Lone Oak’. Mr George’s approach – to age whisky for as long as it needed – was seen by some as eccentric during his lifetime. The theme celebrates this philosophy of occasionally going against the grain but always standing firm to one’s principles in pursuit of perfection.

Gordon & MacPhail - Mr George Legacy 1958 from Glen Grant Distillery, is said to deliver notes of beeswax, molasses, stewed prunes, warm spices, aged leather, mature oak and cocoa powder on the nose. Followed by notes of Seville orange peel, dark morello cherry, tobacco, roasted coffee beans, toasted oak and liquorice on the palate.

Commenting on the launch, Stuart Urquhart, Operations Director at Gordon & MacPhail, said: “My grandfather had a particular affinity with Glen Grant Distillery. Local to our home in Elgin, Mr George had a strong relationship with the owners and distillers through the decades and he enjoyed experimenting with different casks to complement the distillery’s lighter spirit style.”

He went onto say: “Back in the 1950s, the spirit would have been slightly smoky due to floor maltings and a small level of peat being used, which is a style rarely seen in today’s modern Speyside whiskies, giving this whisky a charred oakiness, balanced by long-term maturation in a Sherry cask made of European oak.” 

Limited to 376 bottles, Gordon & MacPhail - Mr George Legacy 1958 from Glen Grant Distillery, will be later this month from specialist retailers, for a RRP of £7,000.

Posted by Steve Rush