Lochlea 2018/2024 tasting notes

Lochlea 6YO OB 70cl 50% ABV
Distilled 2018, bottled 2024
A vatting of 6 casks (1st fill Bourbon #132, 1st fill Bourbon #135, 1st fill Bourbon #138, Oloroso Sherry Butts #250-252)
2,500 bottles



Color: dark amber.
Nose: figs, prunes, bread, a touch of rubber, wet grass, lacquered wood, churchkhela, rhubarb, milk chocolate, orange marmalade, baked apples, cherries, hibiscus tea, lemon tart, wet wool, hard candy. Needs plenty of time, but eventually opens up quite impressively.
Taste: cherries, red apples, sage, chocolate, coffee liqueur, honey, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, lemons, some spice, and liquorice.
Finish: lemon zest, grapefruits, cereals, nutmeg, chocolate, cinnamon, apples, pears, cloves, pepper, malt, a hint of salt.
Score: 8 ¾. Better than good. +2+2+1.

Conclusion: this six-year-old malt really hits the mark! There's plenty of good sherry influence, yet it's not overly sweet and remains very drinkable. 87/100, perhaps with a slight stretch, since the aroma does need quite a bit of time to develop. My 10th Lochlea tasted and I'm genuinely impressed with how they've progressed over the past couple of years.

( Metadata )

Michael Hurley — Land of Lo Fi & Redbirds (1988) @@@

This release first saw the light of day on cassette back in 1988, and later Hurley burned some CD-Rs to sell at his shows. It should not be confused with the identically titled album issued in 2013. I really do not know why Michael not only reused the name but also the cover art. These two editions, separated by 25 years, have absolutely nothing in common.

The first disc features ten tracks Hurley recorded with Dave Reisch in July and August of 1988, both at gigs and at Southbound Studios in Richmond, Virginia. The sound quality is definitely lo-fi, but it is still great to have Horse's Ass, which Michael played a lot live, plus a version of the old traditional number Hallelujah, I'm a Bum. There are a few other nice cuts here too, like Lo Bonney, which sounds much more folksy than the version that later appeared on Bad Mr. Mike, and the long, very Hurley-ish Monkey Song. Mostly for completists, but still a welcome and enjoyable addition to Michael's catalog.

The second disc offers a slightly incomplete recording of a 1976 show that has since been released on vinyl. Why incomplete? My guess is that the original cassette was limited to 45 minutes, and Hurley simply transferred it to CD-R without adding anything. Not a big loss, since the full set is already out there. Still, it is always fun to dig into Hurley albums in any form. Happy to finally find this edition on Imation CD-Rs handwritten by Michael!