The ‘Fourth Ten’ of the Whisky Centurion Journey
Well, here we are again for a check-in on my journey towards becoming a whisky centurion. As I try and make my way through one hundred different whiskies I think it’s nice to look back every so often and reflect on what I’ve tried so far. This year has been a little slower due to life! It’s taken me a little over six months to get through the last ten whiskies but it’s been quite the ride! This run started with my first dram from outside of Scotland and finished it on a bit of a flurry through some of Loch Lomond’s offerings. Here’s a reminder of what I’ve tried recently.
This last set of ten whiskies included some great drams (including my first ‘special edition’) and at least one that was a little disappointing. Earlier in the year I looked at the concept of value for money in whisky (read about that here), and while it isn’t a concept that I’ve pursued it is quite useful when looking back at a group of whiskies like this.
31. Cotswolds Reserve
This was a bit of a wildcard, back in April I happened to be near the Cotswolds distillery and popped in for the tour. The distillery was great and it was lovely hearing about the passion they have for whisky (despite being better known for gin). They were generous with the tasting samples and I just loved this expression. I bought a bottle and have thoroughly enjoyed it since. The Cotswold Distillery will likely have its first 10 year old expression available soon - it’s one I’ll be looking out for!
32. Glen Moray Phoenix Rising
Glen Moray - one of the unsung heroes of Speyside - produces great quality spirit and makes it available at affordable prices. This expression is a little more experimental and was well received by the whisky drinkers (including me!). The dram has a real spiciness to it and, while it isn’t that readily available, I picked it up for less than £30!! If you fancy something a little different without splashing out too much - give this a go.
33. Aberlour 14 Year Old
Aberlour is one of my favourite distilleries, and the 12 year old was what made me fall in love with whisky, but this whisky was a little disappointing. It is nearly double the price of the 12 year old but certainly not twice the flavour. Maybe that is an unfair comparison as all whisky has diminishing returns as the cost rises but it just doesn’t sit right. The whisky is nice but probably not worth the cost.
34. Singleton 12 Year Old
This was the whisky I was most disappointed by in this run. Not a very complex whisky and, at a regular price of around £40, this is way overpriced in my opinion. I know it shouldn’t matter but the bottle really turns me off too - it looks more like a medicine bottle than something you’d proudly display on your shelf. I’ll take a pass on this one next time.
35. Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old
I’m a big fan of the Dalwhinnie distillery, having visited many years ago - the tour is great. But the last whisky I tried from them was the quirky and slightly underwhelming Winter’s Gold. The 15 year old is a much more traditional whisky and frankly much better value for money. There aren’t many other 15 year old drams around for less than £50 so it’s worth a go - just don’t expect too much!
36. Loch Lomond 10 Year Old
Here begins my foray into just some of the whiskies from Loch Lomond. I was given this bottle as a gift and was surprised at how little it is mentioned online. It is only sold through supermarkets and is almost certainly aimed at new whisky drinkers but it is a remarkably good spirit, provided you pick it up when it’s on sale (which it regularly is). A commendable start to the offerings from this distillery.
37. Loch Lomond Inchmoan 12 Year Old
Next, we tried the entry point to the Inchmoan line of whiskies at Loch Lomond - they have a distinct but not overpowering smokiness to them which is delightful with the otherwise fruity dram. I love the bottle and the whisky - this was the one that really caught my attention and made me want more and is probably my favourite in this set of ten whiskies.
38. Loch Lomond 14 Year Old
The slightly more expensive 14 year old is from the middling Loch Lomond line again and is another excellent dram. It is obviously a little more expensive but honestly, around £50 for a 14 year old whisky isn’t bad. The Christmassy flavours that run through this were perfect for the long, cold nights through which I enjoyed it.
39. Loch Lomond Cooper's Collection 2024 - Spanish Oak Edition
On a recommendation from the Honest to a Malt podcast I bought this special edition from Loch Lomond. It is the second annual release from Master Blender Michael Henry and is pretty great for the price (I paid around £43). It highlights just how varied the whisky from Loch Lomond can be and is one that I will enjoy for a while to come.
40. Loch Lomond 12 Year Old
Finally in this run, I rounded out with the true core whisky for Loch Lomond - the 12 year old from the middle range (for a brief overview of the ranges see here). It is another solid offering! It won’t blow anyone’s socks off but if you’re looking for a 12 year old whisky at around £40 this is a great option. I’m looking forward to delving into more of the offerings from Loch Lomond in the future.
Not nearly as much variety in these drams as I’ve seen in some of my previous updates (see below), although this was partly due to my expedition into the bottles from Loch Lomond which filled five of the last ten (on second thoughts there is a fair amount of variety in there too)! In Speyside, we went from Glen Moray’s Phoenix Rising, which was one of the cheapest whiskies I’ve tried so far and was surprisingly great, to Aberlour’s 14 year old which is one of the more expensive I’ve tried so far and was a little underwhelming. I guess on reflection it highlights how little you can judge from the price tag on a bottle of whisky and that seems like a good takeaway! See you soon for the next update!
Previous Whisky Centurion updates:
Full resolution version of the empty chart
Feel free to use this to track your own journey