Inchmurrin takes its name from the largest island on Loch Lomond — and by extension the largest freshwater island in the British Isles. At the distillery, the name denotes a specific spirit style: unpeated single malt distilled in the straight-neck pot stills, which produce a lighter, fruitier character than the conventional swan-neck equivalent.
This 18 year old is matured in a mix of refill American oak and recharred bourbon casks, bottled at 46% without chill filtration. The straight-neck stills' heavier reflux yields a cleaner, more ester-driven spirit, and eighteen years of Highland maturation has added a gentle vanilla oak to the underlying orchard fruit without smothering it.
The Inchmurrin line was first introduced in the 1970s, when Loch Lomond was one of very few distilleries openly marketing different pot-still styles as distinct single malts. In an industry that prizes house consistency, Loch Lomond's willingness to bottle multiple distillates under separate names is refreshingly eccentric — and Inchmurrin 18 is the most elegant expression of the lighter style currently in the core range.
