Loch Lomond 12 Year
Named after the iconic Scottish loch it sits next to, Loch Lomond arose over two hundred years ago in 1814. Sadly closed in the mists of history, the distillery was resurrected again in 1964 before going quiet again twenty years later. Ever resilient, though, production began again in 1993 and has continued ever since under the helm of Master Distiller John Peterson and Master Blender Michael Henry. Loch Lomond is unique in that it regularly produces single malt, single grain and blended whiskies due to having three sets of stills. The distillery also has their own cooperage on site, one of four distilleries in Scotland to do so. About 10,000 barrels are repaired or re-charred there each year. A recent push has seen their offerings expand into new markets, especially their single malts like this 12 year offering.
J. P. Wiser’s 18 Year
J. P. Wiser was a Canadian businessman in the late 1800s who went about building a spirits company centered around whisky. A lot of the mythology around Wiser involves the dedication to the craft of making whisky, specifically that the time it takes to mature is more than worth it. Wiser’s company has been bought and sold a few times since he founded it and the brand is now part of the Hiram Walker portfolio, which in turn is part of the Pernod Ricard conglomerate. As with many, though not all, Canadian whiskies, any information about the blend or maturation is very difficult to come by.
Kilchoman Winter 2010
Back in Kilchoman’s early days, less than a decade ago for those keeping count at home, the distillery would put out seasonal releases for lack of having anything steady and regular enough for what their Machir Bay later became. Kilchoman doesn’t do this biannual release anymore, having transitioned to a more stable (though still not completely stable) line up of offerings. This Winter 2010 release followed the Summer 2010 release and, unsurprisingly, neither are readily available now. Still not sure how we ended up with this one, other than it being dragged out of some dusty cellar after gathering cobwebs for a few years. Not complaining in the slightest, however.