Lochlea Ploughing Edition First Crop

This is the 4th and final release in the FIRST CROP of seasonal limited editions, and is the first smoky whisky that the Lochlea Production Director John Campbell has created outside of Laphroaig.

Lochlea is an independent family-owned distillery in the heart of Ayrshire, Scotland. They grow their own barley, distil their unique spirit and mature all of their own casks on site. They are focused on crafting an outstanding whisky for everyone to enjoy. Their local ingredients, process and maturation combine to offer a distinctive style of Scotch whisky that they love and hope you will too.

Their seasonal small batch releases showcase their whisky in four different ways each year. As a working farm, these expressions tie-in with exactly what is happening at Lochlea. In this Ploughing Edition (First Crop), they have used a combination of Ex-Islay and peated quarter casks. Winter on the farm is when they start to plough the fields, carefully turning the soil in preparation for sowing the barley in Spring. It can become bitterly cold and frosty at this time of year on the west coast of Scotland, therefore they created a warming, smoky version of their signature Lochlea whisky by using casks from their friends over on Islay. Their tasting notes include boiled sweets, cooked apple and Brazil nuts all intertwined with a comforting haze of lingering peat.

The ex-Islay barrels and peated quarter casks show a different side to the Lochlea whisky, and we can't wait for people to try it. The juicy fruit and cereal notes are still there, but there is a lovely peat smoke up front that lasts right through to the finish