Loch Lomond distillery Is situated on the Lomond Estate in Alexandria and was only founded in 1965, but then closed in 1984. In 1987 it was purchased and reopened by the Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Company, owned by the Bulloch family who can trace their roots in the Scotch whisky industry back to 1842 when Gabriel Bulloch partnered with JH Dewar to form a wholesale business in Glasgow.

The distillery is still operational and produces a variety of different whisky styles (see below).

Distillery photos with kind permission by Teimei Horiuchi

Production at Loch Lomond Distillery is rather different to other distilleries as not only are two traditional pot stills used, but also four Lomond stills and one column still which together manage to produce 12million litres of pure alcohol per year.

This diverse range of stills also means that the distillery is able to produce a variety of different whisky styles that they bottle under many 'brand' names, which you could be forgiven for believing were different distilleries. So if you come across Loch Lomond (obviously), Craiglodge, Croftengea, Glen Douglas, Inchfad, Inchmoan, Inchmurrin or (Old) Rhosdhu, rest assured they are all 'brands' produced at this distillery.

General whisky characteristics: Dry sherry, butterscotch, almond, farmy

Single Malt, OB - NAS, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Yellow gold

Nose: A not overly intense cocktail of aromatic hay, malt, slight aniseed with faint hints of farmyard.

Palate: Smooth and creamy mouth-feel with faint tingle (pepper). There's also slightly farmy hay, almost cow-shed-like and malty grasses.

Finish: Quite long and very reminiscent of a mixture between new-make and some slightly raw grappas.

Overall Impression: It seems to me that no matter which label (or process) Loch Lomond distillery uses, the result for their single malts is almost always farmy. This isn't a bad whisky, it's just a little raw and farmy which is not my most favourite style.

Single Grain, Organic, wine cask 37700, distilled 2000, bottled 2005, 45% ABV

A Loch Lomond, Organic, single grain whisky

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

General whisky characteristics: Countryside, woody & farmy. An old barn!

"Distillery Select" (OB) range, 45% ABV

Cask No. 27, bottle No. 50 of 375, American oak cask

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

"Dram-atics" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold

Nose: Toasted wood, light rubber and just a little 'farmy' with hay, straw and general countryside.

Palate: A slightly weak flavour of hay, gentle rubber, very faint liquorice and yes, I feel the whole package is wrapped in a well-used barn. But it is very smooth!

With 4 drops of water: The nose is still 'farmy' but more aromatically so. But is this due to it just being more weakened?

Finish: Surprisingly long and not unpleasant, in fact it's probably the best thing about this whisky.

Overall Impression: Another farmy expression from the Loch Lomond stable, but yes, the finish is long and quite good.

General whisky characteristics: Asparagus, cheese, hints of faint peat

"Distillery Select" (OB) range, distilled 5.3.2001, bottled 14.4.2005, 45% ABV

Cask No. 48, bottle No. 264 of 400, American oak cask. (Peated).

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

"Dram-atics" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very pale yellow, almost clear (well it is only 4y)

Nose: Light rubber, bilge pump and just a hint of peaty cheese.

Palate: Actually not as bad as the nose suggested. It is quite weak but still a smooth mixture of light peat and aromatic cheese

With 4 drops of water: A slightly more rubbery nose leads to a weaker palate.

Finish: Quite long with faint cheese wrapped in mild peat with a rubber seal.

Overall Impression: Strangely smooth for one so young, although the flavours are weak but quite pleasant, whereas the nose just doesn't do it for me. Also quite strangely, I enjoyed this far more than the IB below!

Weiser, (IB), Inchmoan,  10y, distilled 1994, bottled 2005, cask 645, 63.5% ABV

'Vintage Cask' bottling, sampled at Limburg whisky fair.

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Raw Asparagus with a hint of yesterday's socks

Palate: Slightly pungent asparagus in the middle of an open-air French cheese market, with just a slight touch of peat.

Overall Impression: This whisky was described to me as a 'peaty Loch Lomond', but unfortunately this just didn't work.

General whisky characteristics: Farmyard, barn, vegetal, grappa (spirity)

(OB), 12y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Light gold

Nose: Initial whiff of horse stable gives way to slightly damp vegetation and maybe even potato.

Palate: Not strong-flavoured but much better than the nose suggests, with an over-riding dry grappa character, from a white-wine based grappa, but the vegetables are also faintly in residence on the palate.

Overall Impression: Very unusual in that the main body on the palate is so reminiscent of a grappa, but this is no grappa, it's definitely a single malt.

I revisited this same whisky a few days later, but using the Classic Malts glass; I found no difference in the nosing to my first tasting with the Spiegelau, other than the Spiegelau reacts slightly quicker and also fades a little earlier.

General whisky characteristics: Rubber, outdoors & countryside

"Distillery Select" (OB) range, 45% ABV

Sherry Butt cask No.1, bottle No. 696 of 885

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold, dark oak

Nose: Rubber (wellies) & outdoors.

Palate: A slight rubberiness translates onto the palate to join some grassy notes and a general countryside character with the slightest hint of coconut.

With 4 drops of water: Smoother with a little more rubber and countryside.

Finish: Medium to long with hints of coconut.

Overall Impression: The label says "Heavily peated" but you could have fooled me. I give in , where's the peat?

General whisky characteristics: Slight rubber, rich, oak and dark fruits

Murray McDavid (IB), Rhosdhu 1996, 46% ABV

bourbon cask, one of 2000 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Teak, dark amber

Nose: Aged oak, slight rubber

Palate: Sweet, smooth rubber expanding on the palate over time. Slightly metallic dark fruits and berries.

Overall Impression: This bottle has been open for some weeks now and is about half empty. When I first tried it I found it to be extremely pleasant with dark fruits & berries and some cask influence. The most surprising influence is the dark colour coming from a bourbon cask, to the point where I would swear this was really a sherry cask! Unfortunately, over the few weeks sine opening this has gained a strange metallic influence which has slightly degraded both nose and palate.

General whisky characteristics: Smooth, slightly farmy, vanilla

"Distillery Select" (OB) range, 45% ABV

American Oak cask No.335, bottle No. 183 of 340

Distilled 27.6.2001 bottled 28.6.2006

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Colour: Pale yellow, light straw

Nose: Vanilla ice cream in a wooden, slightly smoky cornet being eaten outdoors in the vicinity of a farm, but not too close.

Palate: Smooth and vaguely farmy with grasses and hay, leading into hints of slightly charred wood and rubber.

Finish: Medium, slightly dry.

Overall Impression: Not quite so farmy as many of the other Loch Lomond expressions.

General whisky characteristics: Smooth, light smoke and peat with rubber.

"Distillery Select" (OB) range, 45% ABV

Cask No.223, bottle No.1835 of 434, distilled 26.2.2001 bottled 8.9.2005

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics "Advent-urous" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very pale yellow, almost clear.

Nose: Quite tangy (not citrus, just tangy) with rubber, vanilla and hints of leather. After some minutes a hint of baby vomit.

Palate: Smooth with slightly rubbery light peat and smoke, then a peppery tingle right on front of palate.

Finish: Long with slightly fruity light peat.

Overall Impression: This is a peated offering from Loch Lomond and to be honest I wish it were older. Its youthfulness does it no great justice as it suffers from a light rubberiness and hints of baby vomit on the nose.