Inchmurrin is one of several single malts produced at the unusual Loch Lomond distillery in Alexandria, where the same site houses pot stills, straight-necked stills, and a column still capable of producing both grain and malt whisky. Inchmurrin specifically comes from the straight-necked stills — Loch Lomond's signature design, in which the lyne arm sits atop a tall cylindrical neck rather than the traditional swan-neck pot — which yield a lighter, fruitier spirit than conventional pot distillation.
The 12 Year Old is matured in a combination of bourbon, refill, and recharred American oak casks, then bottled at 46 percent without chill-filtration. The result is a soft, orchard-and-tropical-fruit malt that owes its character chiefly to the still shape rather than the cask. It is named for Inchmurrin, the largest island in the loch, where in earlier centuries the Earls of Lennox kept a hunting lodge and the monks of Lennox Castle ran a deer park.
This is unfussy Highland whisky, easy in the glass and reasonably priced — the sort of bottle a Lowlander like myself reaches for when something gentle is wanted at the end of a long day. Loch Lomond's catalogue rewards patient exploration, and Inchmurrin is a good place to start.
