Loch Lomond Distillery has partnered with Scottish golf legend Colin Montgomerie to release two limited-edition single malt scotches to mark The 152nd Open at Royal Troon. The Open is the world’s oldest golf tournament, and was first held in 1860.
The first whisky is Loch Lomond The Open Special Edition; a non-age statement single malt matured in American oak casks and finished in French oak chardonnay casks. Crafted by Loch Lomond Group’s master blender Michael Henry it is bottled at 46% and is priced at $45. In recent years, the distillery has also added a new special edition single malt to The Open Course Collection. The 2024 release was distilled in 2000 and finished for 6 months in manzanilla sherry casks. Bottled at 24 years old at 47.1%, this expression is priced at $300. It’s a limited global release of 4,500 bottles, and both releases will be available in the U.S. beginning in May.
Loch Lomond has been the official Spirit of The Open with The R&A since 2018, and they also support the AIG Women’s Open as part of the deal. The packaging for The Open releases prominently feature the coveted Claret Jug, one of the most recognizable trophies in golf, which has been held by previous tournament winners including Ernie Els, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, and Jack Nicklaus.
Ernie Els and Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Whisky Advocate, recently hosted the 16th annual Els for Autism Pro Am, raising $825,000 (see Cigar Aficionado for the full story). Drawing inspiration from the Claret Jug, Loch Lomond released a 22 year old single malt finished in claret barrels from Haut-Médoc for the 150th Open in St. Andrews in 2022. This will be the tenth time The Open has been held at Royal Troon in Ayrshire, Scotland, a links course founded in 1878 which last hosted the tournament in 2016: this year’s event runs from 14–21 July.
