Loch Brewery and Distillery – The Age Good Food app listing

When a shared obsession with single malt emerged in their 20s, Craig Johnson and Mel Davies traded their city careers for a life of mash bills and copper stills. Their gambling centered on a century-old bank and a dilapidated butcher’s shop, which they stumbled upon by chance. Fourteen years later, the bank’s red-brick interior serves as a cellar door, while the butchery houses stills, tanks and maturing barrels.

Here, they serve traditional English-style ales, as well as an ever-evolving range of spirits, from flagship whiskeys to craft gins and rums. While Johnson enjoys guiding customers through the product line, he admits he has a soft spot for Boilermaker: the pairing of dark beer and matching whiskey in alternating sips. “I like how the flavors influence each other on the palate,” he says.

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