This Lochside sample box is a great opportunity to try and compare 1980s Lochside, 1990s Lochside and a 1970s bottling of the Sandy Macnab Old Scotch Blend which was produced at Lochside distillery and contained both old Lochside malt AND old Lochside grain whisky from the 1960s and 1970s. Grain whisky production at Lochside was shut down in 1973.
This sample box contains 3, 30ml samples of the following whiskies:
– Lochside 10 Year Old, 1980s Official Bottling (40%)
– Lochside 1991 Vintage, Connoisseurs Choice, bottled in 2004 (43%)
Lochside was mothballed in 1992 (before eventually closing) so this release is a great chance to try Lochside distillate in the final years of its production.
– Sandy Macnab’s Old Blended Scotch Whisky, 1970s bottling (43%)
Our Tasting Notes:
Lochside 10 Year Old, 1980s Official Bottling (40%)
Nose: Gooseberries. Damp orchard. Scented washing up liquid. Sour apple sweets. Vanilla custard.
Palate: Nutmeg. Candied mango. Powdered ginger. Wet leather.
Finish: Dry oak. Caramel brittle. Wet hay.
Lochside 1991 Vintage, Connoisseurs Choice (43%)
Nose: Fresh mango juice. Waxed jackets. Brighton rock candy. Gentle nutmeg. Fresh muffins.
Palate: Blood orange. Salted watermelon. Demerara sugar. Pine nuts. Rosemary.
Finish: Dry wood finish with a herbaceous kick.
Sandy Macnab’s Old Blended Scotch Whisky (86 Proof/ 43%)
Nose: Old leather bound books. Squashed blueberries. Damp matchboxes. Familiar Lochside orchard fruit note. Gorse bush.
Palate: Fruit salad syrup. Toffee brittle. Pine cones. Green olive skins. Slight waxy element.
Finish: Orange peel that has sat at the bottom of an old fashioned. Fudge and yellow fruits to finish.
Lochside Distillery – Closed
Was it a castle? A whisky fortress? A giant-discoloured-tower-wall-thingy overlooking Montrose? Well, Lochside was perhaps all of those as well as being an excellent Highland distillery in its time.
What most people don’t realise is that Lochside’s iconic design was modelled after a classic German Brauhaus – very fitting considering Lochside was a brewery from 1786 until it was converted into a distillery in 1957.
For a period during its lifetime Lochside produced both malt and grain whisky and was responsible for coining the phrase ‘blended at birth’ – a process where malt and grain new make is mixed before maturing in oak. This technique was developed for Lochside’s own ‘Sandy Macnab’ blend, until founder Joseph Hobbs died in 1964. It is worth noting that some consider the Sandy Macnab blend to have been one of the finest blended whiskies ever created.
Unfortunately, after Lochside was incorporated into the Allied Distillers portfolio (now Chivas Brothers), it was quickly deemed surplus to requirements and was mothballed in 1992, with the last bottling taking place in May of that year. The site was then sold to developers, with the distillery warehouses being demolished in 1997.
Tragically, the iconic tower was never registered under monument protection and in 2005 the remainder of the distillery, including the tower was demolished and replaced with a housing estate.
This Lochside sample box is a great opportunity to try and compare 1980s Lochside, 1990s Lochside and a 1970s bottling of the Sandy Macnab Old Scotch Blend which was produced at Lochside distillery and contained both old Lochside malt AND old Lochside grain whisky from the 1960s and 1970s. Grain whisky production at Lochside was shut down in 1973.
This sample box contains 3, 30ml samples of the following whiskies:
– Lochside 10 Year Old, 1980s Official Bottling (40%)
– Lochside 1991 Vintage, Connoisseurs Choice, bottled in 2004 (43%)
Lochside was mothballed in 1992 (before eventually closing) so this release is a great chance to try Lochside distillate in the final years of its production.
– Sandy Macnab’s Old Blended Scotch Whisky, 1970s bottling (43%)
Our Tasting Notes:
Lochside 10 Year Old, 1980s Official Bottling (40%)
Nose: Gooseberries. Damp orchard. Scented washing up liquid. Sour apple sweets. Vanilla custard.
Palate: Nutmeg. Candied mango. Powdered ginger. Wet leather.
Finish: Dry oak. Caramel brittle. Wet hay.
Lochside 1991 Vintage, Connoisseurs Choice (43%)
Nose: Fresh mango juice. Waxed jackets. Brighton rock candy. Gentle nutmeg. Fresh muffins.
Palate: Blood orange. Salted watermelon. Demerara sugar. Pine nuts. Rosemary.
Finish: Dry wood finish with a herbaceous kick.
Sandy Macnab’s Old Blended Scotch Whisky (86 Proof/ 43%)
Nose: Old leather bound books. Squashed blueberries. Damp matchboxes. Familiar Lochside orchard fruit note. Gorse bush.
Palate: Fruit salad syrup. Toffee brittle. Pine cones. Green olive skins. Slight waxy element.
Finish: Orange peel that has sat at the bottom of an old fashioned. Fudge and yellow fruits to finish.
Lochside Distillery – Closed
Was it a castle? A whisky fortress? A giant-discoloured-tower-wall-thingy overlooking Montrose? Well, Lochside was perhaps all of those as well as being an excellent Highland distillery in its time.
What most people don’t realise is that Lochside’s iconic design was modelled after a classic German Brauhaus – very fitting considering Lochside was a brewery from 1786 until it was converted into a distillery in 1957.
For a period during its lifetime Lochside produced both malt and grain whisky and was responsible for coining the phrase ‘blended at birth’ – a process where malt and grain new make is mixed before maturing in oak. This technique was developed for Lochside’s own ‘Sandy Macnab’ blend, until founder Joseph Hobbs died in 1964. It is worth noting that some consider the Sandy Macnab blend to have been one of the finest blended whiskies ever created.
Unfortunately, after Lochside was incorporated into the Allied Distillers portfolio (now Chivas Brothers), it was quickly deemed surplus to requirements and was mothballed in 1992, with the last bottling taking place in May of that year. The site was then sold to developers, with the distillery warehouses being demolished in 1997.
Tragically, the iconic tower was never registered under monument protection and in 2005 the remainder of the distillery, including the tower was demolished and replaced with a housing estate.
