Lochside distillery is located in the Highland town of Montrose and was founded as recently as 1957 when Deuchers Brewery was converted into a distillery by MacNab Distilleries Ltd.

It was intended as both a grain and malt distillery but the (grain) coffey still was dismantled and removed in 1973.

It was taken over by a subsidiary of Domecq in 1972 and closed in 1992 when they in turn became part of Allied Distillers. The distillery burned to the ground in 2004.

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

General whisky characteristics: Smooth, gentle and warming, fruit and nuts.

Gordon & MacPhail (G&M)  Lochside, distilled 1981, bottled 1996, 40% ABV

 'Connoisseur's Choice' old white map label

Typical cost of this bottle; now €€€€€

Nose: Butterscotch, barley and marzipan (almond) with the slightest hint of aniseed.

Palate: Smooth and warming on the tongue with a delightful butterscotch flavour slowly giving way to the almonds.

Overall Impression: I like this whisky, very much. If I were to criticise it, I would probably comment on it being just a little watery and short in aftertaste. But this is a G&M ‘CC’ bottling at 40% and I am sure if it were 46% then it would be near to perfect.

Whisky & Chocolate: The Balsamico & Caramel praline by Franz produced an excellent combination with" butterscotch, barley & marzipan soothed and caressed by luxurious caramel with a hint of balsamico delighting the palate's aftertaste."

A.D. Rattray  Lochside, 21y, 59.8% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Roast Pork with Dill

Palate: A strong spirit flavour requires (lots of) water to bring out any of the flavours on the nose. It is also far too short without water.

Overall Impression: A nose which promises lots, but a palate which fails to deliver much of the promise.

Cadenhead  Lochside, 30y, 54.9% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; Unknown

Live Dram-atics review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold, maybe even bright oak or cork

Nose: Crammed full with very floral butterscotch and hints of wood and vanilla. This really is just so aromatic, not massively complex, not changing very much, but wonderfully hitting the spot! Could that be just a suggestion of basil coming through there?

Palate: A perfect extension of the nose, no more, no less but continuing marvellously with that butterscotch and wood, some vanilla and the faintest suggestion of coconut leading into the very long finish.

Finish: Extremely long with a little more of that coconut.

Overall Impression: This is indeed a marvellous whisky, it just happens to have a style which I personally adore, light, floral, butterscotch and a hint of coconut. For sure it's a "Great".

Lochside (IB) Grain

Clan Denny (D. Laing), Lochside 1963, 42y, 45.2%,

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Strong and vivid with hints of liquorice, wild flowers and straw.

Palate: Delightfully smooth but with quite a short finish. Some liquorice immediately hits the front of the tongue, spreading to the middle then fading away to leave a dry aftertaste.

Just a drop of water lengthens the finish and brings out the straw elements, also making the finish a little longer.

Overall Impression: Quite pleasant, but not one to write home about.

Lochside (IB) Blended

Adelphi, Lochside Blended Whisky 1965-2011, 46y, 52.3%,

Cask No.6778, one of 499 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Mahogany, extremely dark

Nose: Toasted nuts and dark fruits, in fact almost scorched wood giving a depth of richness. After some minutes there's a hint of sea-air and light rubber reminding me of an old Atlantic jetty or pier, before marinated prunes make a surprising appearance to complete the experience.

Palate: Big sherried(?) power alongside some amazingly frssh and light wood notes. Not quite perfumed, but certainly very energetic and also including delightfully flavoursome treacle toffee.

Finish: Extremely long and rich with some light coffee influence.

Overall Impression: The stuff of dreams. A delightful "Great"!

Revisiting this whisky after 3-4 weeks and also in comparison with another 46y Lochside blended whisky from The Whisky Exchange:

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Extremely dark Mahogany, almost black.

Nose: Toasted wax furniture polish, wood, nuts and something quite magnificently red (berries) in the background. There's also a fine fresh Atlantic breeze bringing lots of sea-air into the nose. Overall a very rich experience.

Palate: Very energetic, very big, rich, toasted and almost perfumed.

Finish: Extremely long and lightly toasted with hints of coffee beans.

Overall Impression: Still a "Great"!

TWE, Lochside Blended Whisky 1964-2011, 46y, 42.1%,

Cask No.8970, one of 139 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Live Dram-atics Review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light oak

Nose: Lots of butterscotch, in fact this is extremely aromatic and light with floral butterscotch, creamy vanilla and hints of apricot. Wonderful, I could just sit and nose this all day.

Palate: Apricot, peach and light butterscotch are accompanied by lots of floral creaminess followed by suggestions of juniper.

Finish: Very long, very floral, very 'butterscotch'.

Overall Impression: I am sampling this whisky alongside a second tasting of the Adelphi 46y sherried version (as above tasting note) and these two whiskies couldn't be more different. The Adelphi has massive sherry influence but still with an aromatic and floral influence, whereas this TWE version is not sherried and if anything exhibits the traits of a Great old single grain whisky. Did I say Great? Yes it is. In fact it is just slightly better than the Adelphi bottling and that was pretty phenomenal!