Royal Lochnagar, now here is a whisky I have never had before and I believe (anyone out there can correct me if I am wrong), it’s not a whisky sold in the US.

This whisky was paired up with House Baratheon because of the royal connection. King Robert Baratheon once sat in the Iron Throne after leading the rebellion against the Targaryen Dynasty. I mean, their house is now in ruins now, but hey, he was still a powerful and important character at one point in time. Now for the royal connection of the whisky, before being named Royal Lochnagar, the distillery was named New Lochnagar. The name changed in 1848 when the distillery was awarded a Royal Warrant after a visit from Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and three of their children. Making these two a perfect pair.

If you’ve never heard of this distillery, the story behind it is a pretty darn amazing. This highlands distillery not only burnt down once in a suspicious fire in 1824 but twice. The replacement building burnt down in 1841 and a new one was up and running again in 1845. It is a distillery that produces a small amount of whisky mainly used in Johnnie Walker Black and Blue Label.

In this series this whisky is one of two whiskies with an age-statement. It is also a repackaged whisky, which I am not mad about, but what can make someone pause, the original Royal Lochnagar 12 is around $40, this Game of Thrones version is $65. I’ll just let you think about that while I continue, but I will come back to this.

Tasting Notes

Nose: rich, fruit, oak, toffee, spices and hints of sherry

Palate: creamy, spices, fruit and sweetness

Finish: Smooth and sweet

When first tasting this whisky, I was taken aback for two reasons, one, the nose doesn’t match the taste.

Let me explain, when I smelled this whisky it smells expensive, rich and I also got sherry in the nose. When I tasted it, I felt there was a disconnect. The smell of this whisky is very different than the palate. What you smell is not what you taste. The smell was so exciting and then the taste, well not so much but, this brings me to the second reason why I was taken aback… I didn’t hate it. I liked it! What kind of sorcery was this?

I like this whisky a heck of a lot more than I did the Cardhu Gold Reserve. The creaminess of this whisky reminded me of Mortlach Special Strength which is a whisky I really enjoyed. It is balanced, smooth, fruity and slightly sweet.

This whisky is bringing a whole new option to people who aren’t whisky fans. I can see a non-whisky lover enjoying this whisky because of how easy to drink it is. If I had a friend come over and they didn’t love whisky, this is the option I would offer them.

This whisky is good and yes, I do think $65 for this whisky is a bit much, but, being a Game of Thrones fan and a whisky fan, I was going to buy it no matter what. I am sure Game of Thrones has to make a bit of money here but, more importantly, if this is the way to bring light to brands not commonly known, then bring it on because we wouldn’t have been able to find this brand here if it had not been for this series.

Cheers!

Note: The contents on my blog are solely my opinion. To me every palate is different! Although I may or may not like a product, I always recommend for people to try it and make up their own minds.