Whisky: Loch Lomond Inchmurrin 18 Year (2003), SMWS 112.99 “Feels like a caress”

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 51.4%

Cask: Bourbon Hogshead (15Y), First Fill Sauternes Barrique

Age: 18 Years (Distilled 23 Sept. 2003)

Nose: Vanilla, nougat, caramel, candied nuts, waxy fruit skin, slightly overripe fruit, lacquered wood, subtle chocolate and violets.

Palate: Medium-bodied to full-bodied, herbal with pine and thistle, plums, cherry pits, pine nuts, drying, herbal tea and hibiscus, hints of orange peel and anise.

Finish: Medium to long with fruit, woody pits, and herbal tea.

Score: 6-

Mental Image: Afternoon Lanai Snacks

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was sweet and fruity, with an initial gust of candy bars and confectionaries featuring vanilla, cream, nougat, and caramel. Brazil nuts and candied walnuts arrived with waxy fruit skins, apples, and slightly overripe or fermented red fruits. Lacquered wood appeared with subtle milk chocolate and violets. Medium to full-bodied, the flavor profile felt like a mismatch as a wave of herbal pine and thistle hit first with more nuanced notions of plums and woody cherry pits. Pine nuts lingered with a mild mineral-like astringency on the mid-palate. The herbal nature carried to the end as herbal hibiscus and rooibos tea with hints of anise and dried orange peel. The finish was medium to long and drying with fruit, woody pits, and herbal tea.

The aroma and palate were at odds as if someone had swapped the dram in my glass. The nuttiness of the nose was one of the few notes that linked the experience. I was surprised the flavor profile was not more fruity especially considering the generally fruity nature of Inchmurrin and final maturation in a sauternes barrique. This was not the first Inchmurrin I expected to be quite fruity and instead found a touch over-oaked, so perhaps the spirit is a tad more fragile than one would expect. That is only two data points, but it is something I will keep in mind. I did enjoy the long finish and hefty mouthfeel; I thought they matched the faintly fruity herbal vibe of the profile.

Overall, a slightly weird dram, but still pleasant. The impression of herbal tea, perhaps hibiscus or rooibos, provided some subtlety that can otherwise feel missing on some of these wine finished malts.