Royal Lochnagar Selected Reserve

This official Royal Lochnagar single malt from the Limited Edition and bottled at 43%. 4080 bottles in all. Royal Lochnagar was first built in 1845 by John Begg at the foot of Lochnagar, by Balmoral, and the 1848 royal visit made it Royal Lochnagar. It is one of only three distilleries permitted to carry the Royal name.

Distilled slowly in small copper stills with worm tubs for body, building the robust Highland style it is loved for. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the robust character to the fore. With no age statement, it shows a rounded, malty body and a fruity, sherried depth. The robust spirit takes ex-Sherry casks particularly well. Two small stills and worm tubs build a weight unusual for a distillery this size. The malt long fed the John Begg and Johnnie Walker blends before its single malt fame. It is one of only three distilleries permitted to carry the Royal name. Unusually, casks are still filled on the premises, straight from the still.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow. Baked apple and toffee meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Soft orchard fruit and toffee sit behind the sweetness. It closes long, fruity and warming. This is the smallest of Diageo's distilleries.