Loch Lomond Inchmurrin 12 Year

Note - I'm doing the Really Good Whisky Company Advent Calendar. I've also decided to pour these whiskeys "blind" (or at least as blind as I can), then providing nose, palate, and finish notes. I'll then look at the label, proof, cask type, etc. before writing my other notes. I'll be providing some guesses around things like proof and cask type and then seeing how much I missed the mark. Slàinte Mhath! Nose: This jumps out at you. Musty funk, along with honeyed cereal grains. Guessing we're back in Scotland. I think I'm picking up on oak and maybe some brine, maybe even a little peat? Maybe we're in the islands? Minerality, citrus oils. Almost candied lemon peels. There's macerated ripe fruits, as well, buried in the back. Lack of new make character tells me we've made it past 10 years - maybe up to 15. Depth and types of sweetness tells me we have bourbon and sherry cask in play. Maybe 45% abv? Palate: Friendly. The palate here is throwing me for a loop. I can't tell if this is all malt or blended. Almost catching sherry cask or new charred oak Irish vibes. Bananas, vanilla, cream. Slightly biscuity. Still have citrus oils and that touch of minerality, so I'm staying with my Scotch guess. But this isn't giving me peat on the palate. Black tea. Baking spices, leaning into the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove world, as well as black pepper. Smaller casks would explain the oak character/barrel bite I'm getting. Going to guess 10-15 years, charred new oak cask and/or small casks at play. No sherry cask, though Scotch, as well, but not Islay. This is all mid and back palate. Relatively balanced overall. Medium mouthfeel, with some tannin texture. Finish: Pop of ethanol which then quickly dissapates. We move into this balance of black pepper, toasted grains, honey, and vanilla. Dry oak sits under everything else. Minerality, barrel bitter/tannins, and barrel char/smoke and next to subtle vanilla and white sugar as we fade out. Medium length finish. Other notes: This one was a blast! Got a decent enough read on the age. Off by 1% for ABV. The cask types, however - this is a combo of first-fill ex-bourbon, refilled, AND re-charred. Though I wasn't necessarily correct with the specifics, I was absolutely getting some fresh char, which also presented as a slightly smoky character. Explains why I thought I was getting peat at first. Proud of how close I got, regardless, since blending cask types is a black art and detecting specifics would likely require beyond Paterson levels of schnozz mastery. I like this one. It would be a great intro to Scotch for bourbon drinkers, and would be a nice way to start moving into bourbon for Scotch drinkers. That being said, I don't know that I'd ever actually buy this for myself. It's not flawed, it's just not giving me enough of either camp. Either way, solid sip. Until next time, cheers!

I'm sipping a 12 year old single cask, cask strength limited edition and enjoying it. My immediate thoughts went to the Japanese products I enjoyed before they became unattainable for ordinary humans. This shares the forest, fresh air quality (grassy does it no justice). A subtle drop but the higher abv gives real punch without losing a coherent flavour profile. A drop of water releases the full taste range. On the nose, forest air. Love it. In the mouth apple, custard and a welcome citrus edge to heighten the experience. The finish is not huge but leaves the palate tingly. Different. Perhaps not for everyone. But I give it a more please rating.

Grosse surprise et solide bouteille de tous les jours. Tout le monde qui y a goûté a apprécié cette bouteille (amis et gars du hockey). Assez intéressant, car c’est à mi-chemin entre un Highland (côté fruité) et un Islay (fumé). Bouteille assez rare, mais qui donne le goût de découvrir les autres produits de cette distillerie! Odeur de vanille assez prononcée, avec un goût de pomme caramélisée. Longueur moyenne. Point bonus pour le rapport qualité-prix intéressant. Bouteille ouverte en mars 2025.

Tastes different and better this time around. Getting some fortified wine notes but more like madeira than sherry. Been drinkin lots if mezcal this month and tasted these tonight and this is far and away the best dram: highland park 12, deanston 12, glen grant 16. I would try other expressions from this distillery and def get this particular one again in a bar at some point but don’t want an entire bottle of inchmurrin 12

This isn’t a knock-your-socks-off kind of Scotch but it’s a damn good everyday drinker! Especially if you like notes of butterscotch and caramel. Really beautiful nose with sweet caramel cream coming through right away, a rich, oily mouthfeel that lingers on the palate with an ever so slight smokiness on the finish.

For some reason it tastes like bunna 12 but this is ex bourbon only w/o sherry maturation. But those flavors are less rich than in the bunna 12 and i also get faint butterscotch here (which isn’t that pleasant actually). I get that menthol in the long finish which is a deal killer.