Two old Glencraig and a bit about Lomond stills
Lomond stills
You might have heard of Lomond stills, or you might not. They were used for some interesting experimentation mainly in the 60s and 70s. Rather than spend time putting this in my own words, I quote here the description of the Lomond still as presented on Wikipedia:
A Lomond still is a type of still that was sometimes used for whisky distillation, invented in 1955 by Alistair Cunningham of Hiram Walker. It is used for batch distillation like a pot still, but has three perforated plates which can be cooled independently, controlling the reflux through the apparatus in a manner similar to coffey stills. This allows the distiller to produce different kinds of whisky in the same still. Lomond stills were installed at the Loch Lomond distillery for which it was initially designed, and the Glenburgie, Miltonduff, Inverleven and Scapa distilleries.
The first Lomond still was installed at Inverleven Distillery, and they used it to produce Lomond single malt. At Miltonduff they produced Mosstowie, and at Glenburgie they made Glencraig.
The Lomond stills at Glenburgie were installed in 1958 and were in use until 1981. The production was exclusively used for blends, but a few casks have found their way to independent bottlers.
It is not easy to come across these experimental whiskies today, and I must admit I had been looking for them for a while when suddenly the chance presented itself to taste two in one day, and in excellent company as well.
Glencraig 1975 35 YO Gordon & MacPhail, 43 %
The first whisky to be tested is a Glencraig 1975 35 YO Gordon & MacPhail, bottled at 43 percent alcohol. It has been matured in a refill hogshead, and that's about all I know of this bottling.
Nose (22/25): Camphor, oak, caramel pudding with strawberry sauce (a bit odd, I agree!), mild licorice, and a hint of orange bitters.
Taste (22/25): Caramel, oak, orange bitters (more pronounced here than on the nose), orange marmalade and pears. It has a somewhat oily mouth feel.
Finish (23/25): Medium warm, quite long finish. It's quite pleasant and laid back. There's a slightly acidic feel to the finale.
Balance (22/25): A very interesting first encounter, I must say! Let's see what the next one brings.
Score (89/100)
Glencraig 1976 36 YO Signatory Vintage, 47,1 %
The second Glencraig on the test bench is a Glencraig 1976 36 YO Signatory Vintage. We are bumping up the age (slightly), and the ABV. This whisky was distilled on 1976-06-11, and bottled on 2013-04-09. The total outturn of 219 bottles, had been matured in bourbon barrel #4258.
This whisky is still available to buy online, at about GBP 230.
Nose (23/25): Camphor (again!), oak, vanilla, almonds and caramel. This one is actually a bit fresher, with a hint of citrus and other fruits - possibly pears here as well.
Taste (23/25): Yes, there's definitely some pear here. Camphor yet again, and some oakiness, but not in a bad way. This is lovely stuff. Oily mouth feel.
Finish (22/25): Long and lingering, more sweet towards the end. The pears stay with us all the way.
Balance (23/25): I liked that this whisky was a bit fresher, despite its slightly higher age. I suspect we are dealing with a fresher cask here, with a bit more life in it.
Score (91/100)
Sláinte! - Thomas
