Inchmurrin 18 Years Old (2019)

My fondness of Loch Lomond — and Inchmurrin in particular — is well documented. There’s always one or more open bottles on my shelf, and I fairly often pour myself a glass. It’s a bit strange though that I’ve never reviewed an Inchmurrin from the core range. There’s only two of them (three if you count the Inchmurrin Madeira Wood), so what’s the hold up?

I don’t have a sample or bottle of the Inchmurrin 12 to review, so I’ll start with the older one of the two. Needless to say, this is distilled in Loch Lomond’s unique straight-necked pot stills.

Inchmurrin 18 Years Old (46%, OB, 2019)

Nose: A light maltiness with subtle orchard fruits. Think pear skins and ripe red apples, but also some white grapes. A touch of oak shavings, together with a whiff of cardboard and Demerara sugar, as well as some floral notes.
Taste: Some butterscotch and honeyed apricots, but also notes of menthol and cloves, followed by grassy notes and a slight oakiness.
Finish: Lingering spices and a whiff of menthol again. Medium in length.

Score: 85

An interesting malt that sure does have a certain uniqueness to it. I haven’t reviewed the Inchmurrin 12 here yet, but this older brother does have less of that overt fruitiness, which makes me prefer the younger sibling.

Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.