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Royal Lochnagar 16 years

malty woody
4.4
(1)€230Scotland, Highland, Single Malt

Flavours

Whisky character

Fresh
Warm
Mild
Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

Diageo's Special Releases arrive once a year, and 2021 brought a Royal Lochnagar at full strength. That rarely happens. The distillery's own bottlings usually come out at modest proof. Most drinkers have never met this spirit at its natural strength. Here it is, sixteen years in refill American and European oak, straight from the cask. Refill wood stays quiet, which leaves the distillery character out front. Expect meadow flowers, green apple and barley sugar, then a creamy middle and a long spicy finish. It runs hot and bright at the same time. Pour it neat and give it a minute.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Royal Lochnagar

John Begg built his distillery on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire in 1845, deep in Scotland's Highland whisky country. He named it New Lochnagar, keen to distinguish it from a rival site across the water that had already burned down twice. Three years later, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert leased neighbouring Balmoral Castle as their Highland retreat. Begg, sensing an opportunity, invited the engineering-minded Prince to tour his works. The Prince turned up the very next day with the Queen and three of their children. Within days the family granted a Royal Warrant, turning New Lochnagar into Royal Lochnagar. The name is a bit of a trick: Lochnagar is a mountain, not a loch, standing guard over the distillery's Deeside home. Diageo still leases the ground from the Abergeldie Estate rather than owning it outright, just as Begg once did. Today Royal Lochnagar remains one of Diageo's smallest distilleries, turning out a rounded, sherried single malt whisky.

4Average rating

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About the Royal Lochnagar 16 years

Royal Lochnagar 16 years is a single malt Scotch whisky from the Highland region of Scotland. Diageo picked it for the Special Releases 2021 collection. The spirit spent sixteen years in refill casks of American and European oak. It went into the bottle at natural cask strength, 57.5% ABV. That is a big number for this distillery. Most official bottlings from here arrive at far gentler strengths. The distillery sits in the Highlands, and its own malt is genuinely rare. Bottles carrying the Royal Lochnagar name do not appear often. Diageo chose refill casks for this release rather than fresh oak. A refill cask has already held whisky once before. It gives up less wood character the second time around. The distillery spirit therefore leads, and the oak follows a step behind. Meadow flowers and hay come first, soft and floral in the glass. Green apple cuts through, sharp and clean. Fresh fruit carries the whole aroma along. Sweetness arrives on tasting, creamy with vanilla and warm bread dough. Cereal grain gives the middle real weight. Baking spice builds behind it, with a chalky dryness. Raspberry, melon and pear close things out. A woody edge and lemon peel linger last. Full strength is what sets Royal Lochnagar 16 years apart from the rest. Regular bottlings from the distillery come out at gentler proof. Flavours sit quieter there, and the spice stays polite. At 57.5% the spirit pushes hard and the oak dryness bites. Refill casks keep the wood in check, so strength reads as flavour. Diageo bottled this one for the Special Releases 2021 collection. Those yearly releases come out once and are not repeated.