Lochlea – Our Barley (70cl, 46%)

Lochlea Our Barley is a single malt from a family-run farm distillery in Ayrshire, in the Lowlands. It is matured in a combination of first fill bourbon barrels, Oloroso sherry butts and STR barriques, the last being wine casks that have been shaved, toasted and recharred. It is bottled at 46%, non-chill-filtered and with natural colour. Lochlea uses only barley grown on its own farm, and distils and matures the whisky on site. The cask recipe was worked out by John Campbell, the distillery's Production Director and Master Blender, and settled in a blind tasting with the distillery team. The nose offers pear syrup and fruit sweets, followed by fresh fruit and cereal notes on the palate, then macadamia nuts and orange beeswax.