Campbeltown Loch Blended Scotch Review

“A Blend Worth Looking For”

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Campbeltown Loch

Produced by: Springbank Distillers Ltd, Campbeltown

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky 

Age: NAS (Said To Be 5 Years Old)

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Pale Gold, White Wine

Nose: It's Light but certainly not unpleasant considering the price. I find some Sweet Peat, light Smoke, Brine, Salt, Cereals, Grain Alcohol, Vanilla, Toffee, Banana - and Apricot Flavoured Candies, Grass, Refill Ex-Bourbon Casks and traces of Leather, Espresso Coffee and Cinnamon. It's a bit too Light for my liking and the Alcohol is not integrated. But other than that it's quite okay when considering the price.

Palate: Thin Delivery. The slightly weaker part of this Blend as far as I'm concerned. I find Sweet Grains, Corn Syrup, Earthy Peat, light Smoke, light Caramel, New Make Spirit, light Vanilla, light Banana, light Herbs, Pepper, Salt, Clove, Licorice and a hint of Rubber.

Finish: Middle-Long with Sweet Peat, light Smoke, Cereals, Citrus, Pepper, Oak, Licorice (quite a bit), Salt, Caramel and Alcohol. Nothing to get excited about but not bad in its category.

I added a bit of Water and on the Nose, the Oak and Grains start to dominate. Palate and Finish do not benefit from added Water either. Better sip it neat. 

Rating: 84

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Springbank Distillery is one of the very few remaining producers of Campbeltown Single Malt. It's owned by J & A Mitchell & Co. Ltd. and produces three types of Whisky namely Springbank, that is distilled 2,5 times, the peated Longrow that is distilled twice and the unpeated and triple-distilled Hazelburn. Most of the Spirit is sold as Single Malt but a small quantity is reserved for the House Blends Campbeltown Loch (5 Years) and Mitchell's (12 Years). The Campbeltown Loch I'm tasting today is made of 40% Single Malt (Mainly Springbank and Longrow) and 60% Grain Whiskies. It costs an average 30 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is a Cheap Blended Whisky that is good enough to sip. There is nothing really special going on but it's utterly drinkable. I like the Nose. Nice interplay between Sweet Candy and Medium Peat. The Grain Alcohol does not bother me that much as it does in the majority of Blends in this category. This spirit really deserves more (quality) cask time. The Palate does not convince me in the same way. No Off-Notes here but it's all a bit too Thin for my taste. The Finish is not bad and invites you to have another sip. It's very drinkable to the point that you need to remind yourself that this is Whisky with an ABV of 40%. I think it's a pity that this Blend is not more widely available and at this price level you should certainly give it a try when you find it somewhere. 

Jan van den Ende                                                      September 11, 2014

Campbeltown and the Log

Craigellachie 2002 Review

“It’s Coopers Choice….But Not Mine”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Speyside

Brand: Craigellachie 2002 (Coopers Choice) 

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 8-9 Years

ABV: 46 %

Colour: Deep Gold with a touch of Orange.

Nose: Sherry at first, followed by Malt, Apricot, Nuts, Buttered Toast and Orange Marmalade, Espresso Coffee, Brown Sugar, Toffee, Syrup, Heather, Straw and Oak. But then it becomes more Herbal and Grassy with a slightly Sour Off-Note reminding me of decomposed organic matter. The ABV of 46% is correct but unfortunately the Alcohol is not fully integrated. I'm not convinced by this Nose. It is similar to - and not that much better than your average Blended Scotch.

Palate: Slightly Sour and Bitter-Sweet with Buttered Toast, Malt, Sherry, Oak, Toffee, Syrup, Archive Boxes, Orange, Wax and light Pepper.

Finish: Middle-Long and Bitter-Sweet with Orange Marmalade, Malt, Caramel, Oak, light Pepper, Sour Cherries and a hint of Licorice.

I added a bit of Water and the Nose becomes quite Grainy and a bit Musty. The Palate and Finish do not benefit from the added H2O as well.

Rating: 80

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 19.5 - Overall: 20 

General Remarks: The Craigellachie Distillery was built in 1891 and is located between Craigellachie and Aberlour in Banffshire. Since 1998 it's owned by John Dewar & Sons, part of Bacardi. The 14 Years is the only Distillery bottling. Most of the production disappears in the Dewar's Blends. During our trip to Scotland in May we passed the Distillery. Unfortunately it's not open to the public. We took a picture (in the rain) but I can't find it at the moment. Will add it later to this Post.

The Single Malt we are tasting today was distilled in 2002 and bottled in 2011. It was matured by - and bottled for The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. Ltd under their brand name Coopers Choice. This Independent Bottler was founded in 1992 by Brian Cook, a guy with over 20 years of experience in the Malt Whisky Industry. It matured in an Ex-Sherry Butt (Cask # 90008) and costs around 50 US Dollars. I assume that this whisky is naturally coloured and not chill-filtered.

Drinking Experience Neat: Disappointing.

Conclusion: Dewar's White Label is one of my less favourite Blends and that's an understatement. I truly hope that it did not affect my objectiveness when Nosing and Tasting this Craigellachie. Because I did not find this Single Malt to be very attractive. The Nose starts with Sherry but quite soon there was this Compost like Off Note that I didn't care for. And on the Palate and in the Finish some Bitter-Sweet and Sour Flavour components did spoil some of the fun as well. I wouldn't buy a full bottle of this Craigellachie nor recommend that to my friends.

Jan van den Ende                                                        September 9, 2014