Spearhead Single

About the Spearhead Single

Spearhead Single is a single grain Scotch whisky made in Scotland by the Loch Lomond Group. It is bottled at 43% ABV after a bourbon barrel finish. Grain whisky usually means mixed cereals. This one is different, because it is distilled from 100% malted barley. A continuous Coffey still gives the spirit its light, clean shape. The result sits closer to a soft malt than a heavy grain. Loch Lomond Group builds this whisky around wood as much as spirit. The barley spirit first rests in ex-bourbon barrels, which set the sweet base. Then comes the unusual part. The whisky finishes in virgin American oak toasted two ways, by fire and by infrared. Loch Lomond is the only Scottish distillery using infrared-toasted barrels for finishing. Infrared toasting heats the wood precisely, so the team controls what the oak gives up. Sweetness arrives first, all honey and vanilla, with a soft floral lift behind it. Ripe pear follows on the palate, then a light woody grip. Oak stays in the background rather than pushing forward. Underneath sits a faint medicinal edge, more herbal than smoky. Spice closes things out, short and dry, with a clean spirity snap. Nothing here turns heavy, which is the point of the lighter distillation. Most single grain Scotch is built from wheat or maize, aimed at blends. Spearhead Single goes the other way, using malted barley and a finish chosen for flavour. That is why it tastes sweeter and fruitier than the grain category suggests. At 43% ABV it keeps enough weight to hold its shape. For anyone curious about what grain whisky can be, this is a good starting point.