Inchgower 15 Year (2007) SMWS 18.54 “A thinking dram”

Review by: The Muskox

This is review 5/6 of the SMWS’s December 2023 outturn, which I tasted alongside my man rye_am_legend at the venerable Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C. We tried these whiskies blind, so all my notes and my score are pre-reveal. Apologies for briefer notes than usual – we tried quite a pile of whiskies that evening!

Distillery: Inchgower.

Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 59.4%. Cask strength.

Age: 15 years. Distilled September 18th 2007. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: Finished for 3 years in an first-fill Spanish oak Oloroso sherry hogshead.

Price: N/A, tasting.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Sweet, with an interesting lactic character. Chocolate buttercream icing and Krispy Crème donuts. Fresh chili peppers and a little sea salt. Pomelo and some perfume.

Palate: Medium texture, drying. Arrives with salt, perfume, and grapefruit zest, developing to charred oak and a hint of smoke.

Finish: Sweet and oily. Goat cheese, orange, and vanilla.

Possible SMWS bottling name: “4 AM donut run from the construction site”

Conclusion: This is very good, and got more interesting as I drank it. Good complexity and variety of flavours, nice structure and a decent finish. It’s totally my style of whisky too, lean and fragrant with just enough earth and sweetness.

We were given five options for which distillery this whisky could be – Balmenach, Dalmore, Aultmore, Inchgower, and Craigellachie. Cool lineup. I didn’t get enough herbal worm tub funk for Craigellachie, enough grassy malt for Balmenach, or enough nuts for Inchgower. I don’t have enough experience with Dalmore to make a call one way or the other, but I thought it should be oilier and nuttier than what we had here. That left… Aultmore? I’ve had trouble picking out Inchgowers blind in the past, and now it’s got me again. I somehow didn’t place this in the “Oily & Coastal” flavour category, despite the words “oily” and “salt” both showing up in my notes.

Final Score: 85.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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