Lochlea Distillery marks 5th Anniversary with statement whisky from across half a decade

Multi-award-winning Ayrshire distillery, Lochlea, is celebrating its 5th Anniversary this year, marking the milestone birthday with a limited edition first age-statement whisky release.

Lochlea 5 Year Old is a vatting of five different casks from the distillery - each one showing a different side to the house spirit, hand-selected by Production Director John Campbell and the team.

This exclusive single malt whisky is incredibly special to the Lochlea team - it is their first ever age statement release since the distillery was founded half a decade ago on Lochlea Farm – where Robert Burns lived and worked, inspiring his thinking and development as a poet.

Two of the five casks used are from the very first filling in August 2018, making this the oldest Lochlea whisky that has ever been bottled and released! The final spirit of this limited 5 Year Old release is made up from two first fill ex-Bourbon casks, one first fill Oloroso sherry cask, one double matured Oloroso Sherry cask and a double matured Pedro Ximenez Sherry cask, giving it a delicious rich flavour and texture.

John Campbell said: “To mark our 5th Anniversary milestone, we wanted to create a whisky that shows off the best of Lochlea spirit that has been matured in different styles of casks over the last half a decade. We have carefully chosen these five casks that have matured our single malt to perfection, then vatted them together to create a unique bottling of Lochlea that we won’t replicate ever again – it’s an incredibly special dram to mark our first special milestone birthday. And as always with our whiskies, it’s made entirely from barley grown on our farm here at Lochlea.”

“In celebration of this special milestone, we felt it was fitting to release it on Burns Night as a nod to Robert Burns who once worked the land that we rely on for our own barley and, ultimately, our final spirit.”

Lochlea is one of the very few full grain-to-cask distilleries in Scotland, growing all its own barley, distilling its spirit, and maturing all stocks on site at the distillery (and farm) in the stunning region of Ayrshire. Not only does this keep production quality consistent, but it also helps to ensure the distillery is naturally as sustainable as possible.

In addition to this special anniversary release, Lochlea has a range of limited-edition seasonal whiskies that are released each year to mark the seasons on the farm, as well as a Cask Strength series. The distillery also released a signature expression in 2022 – award-winning ‘Our Barley’, that is available in over 20 markets globally, throughout the year.

Limited edition Lochlea 5 Year Old is available from 25th January onwards, from Lochlea stockists* while stocks last, RRP: £89.99.

Lochlea 5 Year Old Tasting Notes:

Nose: Baked pineapple, brown sugar, hazelnuts, sourdough bread
Palate: Lemon zest, candied pear crumble, orange peel
Finish: Caramel with hints of black pepper, rose petals and leather