Croftengea 13 Year (2007) The National Choice for Inn’s+ x ICST

Scotch Whisky Review : Croftengea 13 Year (2007) The National Choice for Inn’s+ x ICST

Distillery: Loch Lomond.

Bottler: C.S. James & Sons.

Region: Highland.

Age: 13 year. Distilled in April 2007, bottled in July of 2020. The Whiskybase entry claims this was distilled on and then bottled on the 15th of both months but I don’t see anything on the bottle to validate that.

ABV: 56.1%.

Cask Type: Refill hogshead.

Price: £80 at auction for this and a Glen Elgin picked for the same organization.

Color: 1.6, Mahogany/Henna Notes.

This is the twelfth installment of this year’s Christmas Countdown. You can find previous installments here.

Nose: This distinctly smells of sour cream and onion potato chips for me. It has a bit of a milky/sour creamy funk and a bit of sharp freshness that really drives home that combination

Palate: Unlike the nose, it’s on the fruitier side of things. Artificial grape flavors for me, somewhere between a grape juice and Japanese grape gummies (the UHA ones). Some roasted malt barley adds an earthier touch to this as well.

Finish: Medium in length. The grape gummy note from the palate are what linger the longest.

Conclusion: This Croftengea was picked by the International Connoisseur Society of Taiwan for Inns+, a Michelin Bib Gourmond Taiwanese restaurant. The label on this one in particular (I’ve depicted the more normal side) is an interesting choice but I was definitely intrigued by the parties involved in picking the cask. After having it, I am left feeling that this is certainly a bit different different. Then again, if it wasn’t different, would it be Loch Lomond distillate? If you take the two major sets of notes in isolation, the sour cream and onion chips and those grape gummy notes, they’re really nice and fun to have. Together? It is a rather odd mix of notes, I often describe Loch Lomond as chaos incarnate and they’ve delivered that again here. A fun dram as I enjoy the chaos but certainly can see this dividing opinion.

Rating: 80.

Scotch Whisky Review , Highland Review , Whisky Network Review

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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