Review by: Raygun

Ah, Loch Lomond. Peated, unpeated, swan neck stills, straight neck stills, column stills…I am sure I will never remember which of their various distillates is which. Inchmurrin is made from unpeated malt distilled on the straight neck pot stills, up to around 85%, much higher than standard pot stills. But it’s still single malt. Vosges oak was a new one to me: I’ve learned it’s a variety of French oak from the Vosges mountains in Alsace. It says first fill rather than virgin, but not what it held before. Some kind of wine based on the flavor; Rivesaltes wouldn’t surprise me, but could well be something else. Rested about 15 minutes. Initial notes from fully blind tasting, with additions after the reveal in italics. Sample courtesy of Whiskery Turnip.

Distillery: Loch Lomond (Inchmurrin) 

Bottler: SWMS  

Region/style: Highlands single malt whisky

ABV: 57.4% 

Age: 12 years. Distilled on August 8, 2007. Cask type: Ex-bourbon, then finished in a first-fill Vosges oak hogshead. 284 bottles.

Color: 1.6 mahogany. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Doesn’t smell heavily sherried despite the color. Pretzels are the prominent smell, of all things. There is some raisin and berry scent. Wild berries in a damp forest.    

Palate: OK, definitely a wine cask, but I don’t think it’s sherry. More like Rivesaltes. There’s the savoriness and bread-like flavor that I identified as pretzels on the nose. But much sweeter here. Some raisin still, but cherry and raspberry are the stronger fruit flavors. Tomato-like umami and some sweet bean paste. 

Finish: Still sweet and savory. Chinese sweet sweet bean paste. Cherries and a little tomato. Definitely a dessert type of dram. Has that sort of syrupy sweetness. An herbal flavor comes through, along the lines of mint.  

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Guess: Not peated, and some kind of weird cask. Maybe PX, but I’m thinking some more unusual sweet wine. And of course, that brings to mind Bruichladdich. Around 10-12 years, 52-55% ABV.    

Conclusion: This was kind of fun, and very strange. Don’t know what kind of wine it held before Scotch, but it produced peculiar results. Sweet, savory, and fermented all together. I can see why I thought it was Bruichladdich, as it shares features with some of their odd cask choices. In both flavor profile and the lack of subtlety. Yet I think they pull it off better on the whole. This was nice as a sample, but I don’t think I’d want a bottle.  

Post-reveal thoughts: Not too bad. Would love to know what kind of wine cask it was, and if it really was Rivesaltes. As it is, I was reasonably close.   

Buy a bottle? Not exactly my sort of thing.

Score: 78

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)