The second review in a row from the Cooper’s choice brand from The Vintage Malt Whisky Company. The first one was good although perhaps not particularly interesting. This second one is from a producer I have not had much luck with, Loch Lomand. I struggle to enjoy the roughness of the whisky like some others do.

The Dram

The Croftengea brand is the name of a heavily peated single malt whisky. Therefore, it uses traditional copper pot stills rather than lomond stills and the influence of the peat might make it more to my taste than previous releases from Alexandria. This particular single cask release was distilled in 2006 and released in 2016. The cask was bottled at 46% and an amazing 725 bottles were produced. This suggests a massive vessel was used and further research finds out that it was indeed a refill butt. Bottles are again like the last review just under £60.

Tasting Notes

Colour – white wine.

Nose – rich and heavy with plums, figs and dates. No smoke though

Palate – Now there is smoke and ashy tobacco notes. There is more richness of a pound cask.

Finish – The finish is short but on the sweet side after the ashy palate. Drying with notes of cracked peppercorns.

Final Thoughts

This was much better than I thought. Yes it is spirit led like the last one from the series but the peat and traditional techniques have made it much more approachable and enjoyable for me at least.