Royal Lochnagar Selected Reserve

An official Royal Lochnagar single malt and bottled at 43%. Royal Lochnagar was established in 1845 near Balmoral Castle in the eastern Highlands; it won a royal warrant after Queen Victoria visited in 1848. Much of the make has long gone into Johnnie Walker and the John Begg blends.

Distilled in a tiny pair of copper stills and condensed in traditional worm tubs, giving a weighty, fruity spirit with real depth. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the malt and fruit lead. No age is given, but the sherried depth points to good years in oak. Casks are filled on site, the spirit going straight from still to wood. Queen Victoria is said to have laced her claret with the make after that visit. The distillery sits at the foot of Lochnagar, the mountain that gives it its name. Water is drawn from springs in the Deeside hills above the River Dee. Two small stills and worm tubs build a weight unusual for a distillery this size.

At 43% it is supple and sherried. The refill oak lending honey and vanilla runs under orchard fruit and a cereal note. It is rich and deep, the fruit and oak well matched. Dried fruit and oak spice see out a long finish. This is a fruity, sherried Highland whisky.