Lochside Whisky
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Lochside was a Highland single malt and grain whisky distillery in Montrose, on Scotland's east coast. The site began life as a brewery, with buildings dating back to the eighteenth century, before being converted into a distillery in the 1950s by Macnab Distilleries under the direction of Joseph W. Hobbs.
Unusually, Lochside produced both malt and grain whisky, and for a time was capable of creating what later became known as a "single blend": malt and grain spirit made at the same distillery and combined before maturation. The distillery eventually came under Allied ownership, closed in 1992 and was later demolished, leaving no active production behind.
Most surviving Lochside bottlings are now independent releases from finite old stocks, and they have become increasingly sought after by drinkers interested in closed distilleries. The single malt is often described as fruity, floral, and gently sweet, with notes of orchard fruit, honey, vanilla, citrus, and soft spice, while sherry-cask examples can add richer layers of dried fruit, toffee, nuts, and polished oak.
Lochside's fascination comes partly from its rarity, but also from its unusual place in Scotch whisky history. Few distilleries produced both malt and grain spirit on the same site in quite this way, and the remaining bottlings preserve a distinctive east-coast Highland character from a distillery that can no longer be recreated.
