Glenlossie 10 Years Old Flora & Fauna (43%, OB, 2014)

• 43% ABV,
• £40 for 70cl
• Score: 82/100

What they say:

Whisky from Glenlossie is highly sought after by blenders and is consequently not widely available as a single malt. There is an official distillery bottling as part of UDV’s Flora & Fauna series, however, it is mostly found in independent bottlings. The distillery, established in 1876, is located in the heart of Speyside, adjacent to the Mannochmore distillery. Up until 2007 Glenlossie shared its staff with Mannochmore, each distillery producing alternately for approximately 6 months at a time. Once a major part of Haig’s blend.

What I say:

The ‘standard’ expression from Glenlossie distillery in Speyside has been this 10 year old Flora and Fauna bottling. With the discontinuation of this range we await with baited breath to see if a stable of Glenlossie expressions will be released of if it’s malt will be destined for blending and independent bottlings only moving forward. With the current expansion within Diageo’s Classic Malt expressions, perhaps these once forgotten distilleries will be re-forgotten again…

Colour:

Full amber gold with heavy/oily tears

Nose:

Sweet golden syrup, zesty lemon citrus / peel, gentle woody oak hints, barley cereal malt, orange oil

Taste:

Sweet orange blossom honey, golden syrup, gristy, slight lemon and orange zest and pith, full-bodied, madeira cake, candied peel, hints of brandy and some Christmas spices

Finish:

Sweet and slightly citric sour, brandy butter, pink and red grapefruits and bitter to almost dark coffee/cocoa levels

Overall:

An interesting dram, plenty of fruit and barley and some zest and spiciness. Full-bodied it carries the flavour well – presumably some of the characteristics that make this a good blending malt. Not particularly challenging though it does have an overall balance of flavours suggestive of a session dram, the bitterness at the end tickled my fancy indicating it may sherry-well if the distillers so desired?