Welcome to the highly decorated ‘new kid on the Scottish block’ – Lochlea. In the two years their spirit has been able to be called ‘whisky’ – they have picked up no less than TWO GOLD medals for their headline product – The Lochlea ‘Our Barley’ Expression and no less than THREE ‘Icons of Whisky’ awards for the distillery itself. These guys are not mucking around! With the team they’ve put together it’s no wonder Lochlea is kicking huge goals in the industry so relatively soon. Strong leadership has always been fundamental to the Lochlea strategy. Initially led by industry legend Malcolm Rennie (Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Glen Moray, and now Rosebank) Lochlea is now in the more than capable hands of John Campbell. You may have heard of John, or even the humble distillery he used to manage before he came to Lochlea – a little outfit named… LAPHROAIG! In the case of the Lochlea ‘Our Barley’, the own-grown barley is fermented and distilled before being filled into a mix of first fill bourbon, Oloroso Sherry and STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred) casks. Bottled as Lochlea’s flagship product at 46%abv.