The Basics:

Character: Cereal, light fruit and herbal

Score:  77/100

The details:

Located in the East-Central Highland town of Montrose, Lochside began life as a brewery all the way back in 1781. In 1899, an iconic white tower was built by noted distillery architect Charles Doig, although at that point, it was still a brewery rather than a distillery. Distilling finally commenced on the site in 1957, when Joseph Hobbs converted the brewery into a grain distillery. Four years later, pot stills were added and Lochside finally added malt distilling to its resume. 

Hobbs’ son sold the distillery to Spanish drinks firm DYC in 1973; under their stewardship, a 10 year old single malt was released in the 1980s. It was sold again in 1992, this time to Allied Distillers, who then mothballed the plant. The mothballed site was sold for complete redevelopment in 1997, and by 2005, the last of the buildings was demolished. Numerous independent bottlings are still extant, and available from specialists and auctions.

This Lochside from the well-established indie bottler Gordon & MacPhail hails from 1991, toward the end of the distillery’s life. Bottled as part of their Connoisseur’s Choice range prior to a significant rebrand, this Lochside is an odd whisky that varies quite radically according to mood. The first time I sat down for a formal tasting, I found it very, very lackluster. Subsequent sessions have varied between finding it quite drab, and finding it quite enjoyable and subtle.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Fat barley, linseed oil, coal gas and some sweetness, although more akin to sweet grass than to fruit or sugar. Toasted grains. Boiled quinoa. Geranium leaf. Herbal, malty, grassy and dry.

Body: Light to medium, a little hard.

Palate: Somewhat sweeter than the nose. Barley sugar, beets. Rather elegant–lots of dry malt, a subtler vein of gentle sweetness held together by the same geranium character from the nose. Aspic. The barest hint of a rather sour, underripe green apple. Altogether rather austere.

Finish: Herbal (a touch of fresh mint), drying and rather short.

Score: 77/100

Who should buy it?: Imagine, if you will, someone who very much wants to try whisky from Lochside. Imagine further, if you will, someone who doesn’t want to shell out more than $100 for one of those chintzy official bottlings from the 80s or 90s. Imagine, finally, that neither are you inclined to shell out $700-800 for a nice Douglas Laing bottling or similar. Well then, this just might be the bottle for you! If some of these things don’t apply to you, skip on down and spend your money elsewhere on something you’ll likely appreciate more.

Overall thoughts: A really weird whisky, that seems to have a different character every time you pour a dram. Sometimes it is quite likable, other times rather less so.

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