Distillery

Royal Lochnagar whiskies

Royal Lochnagar is a small eastern Highland distillery in Deeside, Aberdeenshire, very close to Balmoral Castle, the British royal family’s Scottish residence. It belongs to Diageo and is one of its smallest distilleries. It owes its “royal” title to a visit by Queen Victoria in the middle of the 19th century. Its style is rich, fruity and full-bodied, very traditional.

Founded
1845
Owner
Diageo
Origin
Highlands, Scotland
In the catalogue
1 whisky

History, style and where to startSee it on the world map

  • Royal Lochnagar distillery, photo 1 of 3
    Photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Royal Lochnagar distillery, photo 2 of 3
    Photo: Orit Kislev · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Royal Lochnagar distillery, photo 3 of 3
    Photo: Alan Jamieson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)

1 whisky

Guide to Royal Lochnagar

History

The distillery was founded by John Begg in the mid-1840s, near a mountain called Lochnagar. Shortly afterwards the royal family bought the neighbouring Balmoral estate, and Begg invited Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to visit the distillery. The visit took place the next day, and soon after the distillery received a royal warrant as a supplier, which allowed it to add “Royal” to its name. During the 20th century it passed to the Distillers Company and then to Diageo, and it has kept its small size and traditional methods.

House style

Royal Lochnagar distils in small stills and cools with worm tubs, which gives a full-bodied spirit. The style combines ripe fruit, malt, toffee, spice and a very faint touch of smoke, with some sherry. It is a robust, rounded whisky, one to drink slowly. It does not use peat noticeably. With age it gains notes of dried fruit, soft leather and spice, without losing its oily texture.

Flavour profile of its whisky in the catalogue

Sweet
2.5
Fresh fruit
2.5
Ripe and dried fruit
1.0
Floral and herbal
1.0
Cereal and malt
2.0
Vanilla and creamy
1.5
Oak
1.5
Spicy
1.5
Toasted
1.0
Smoky
0.0
Maritime
0.0
Body and intensity
2.0

Where to start

Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old is the catalogue’s expression and a good example of the traditional Highlands: fruity, full-bodied and with a touch of spice. You’ll like it if you are drawn to classic, robust whiskies. Drink it neat or with a few drops of water. If you visit the Balmoral area, the distillery is open to visitors. It is a very recommendable malt to compare with others from Deeside and the eastern Highlands.

This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.

Explore more