Okay, let’s do a week of reviews of Highland distilleries. First up is a Loch Lomond 10 bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Word on the street is that this is more specifically an Inchmoan. Inchmoan is, as you probably know, one of Loch Lomond’s peated lines. Though what exactly separates Inchmoan from the other peated Loch Lomonds—your Inchfads and Croftengeas—I’m not entirely sure and you may need to go to a more reliable source to find out. Well, this particular Inchmoan is quite different from most whiskies, whether made at Loch Lomond or elsewhere. That because the yeast used for the batch this cask came from was quite different from the types normally used in the fermentation process in making single malt whisky: it was a wine yeast. Now, for all I know, I’ve had other whiskies before without knowing it that had wine yeast in their production process but now that I do know for a fact that it was used to make this whisky I am very curious to see what characteristics it imparts. Let’s get to it.
Loch Lomond/Inchoman 10, 2009 (59.9%; SMWS 135.22; first-fill bourbon barrel; from a bottle split)
Nose: I may be impressionable but yeast is the first thing I note. But it’s not bready yeast—it’s altogether fruitier. At first that fruit is highly carbonated lemon but it begins to shift quickly into sweeter territory—think watermelon-flavoured chewing gum. Oh, and did I mention the big blast of paraffin? Continues in this vein for a bit and then there’s a big hit of blueberries. Below all that lurks something organic/funky and also something floral—rotting rose petals? The oak begins to show up with time but in the guise of Amrut-style rosewood. A few drops of water push the oak back and bring out some of the roasted nuts from the finish. Some apricot mixed in with the fruit now.
Palate: Comes in hot and acidic and more than a little bit savoury. Despite the alcohol burn it’s approachable at full strength with good texture. On the second sip the fruit begins to expand: a lot of different kinds of ctrus peel flash in and out. With time the citrus gets sweeter and muskier (makrut lime now) and is joined by some charred pineapple. But there’s also a brief flash of a soapy note—or is that talcum powder? Okay, let’s see what water does for it. It’s tart-sweet citrus overload now with some roasted malt running through it.
Finish: Long. The oak emerges here (toasted) along with roasted nuts and very milky coffee with chicory in it. As on the palate with water.
Comments: I don’t know if I would call this bizarre but it sure is wild and unusual. The smoke gets a bit lost in the wine yeast carnival but that’s okay. As non-cookie cutter as whisky gets. Water made it a bit more conventionally fruity but I liked it even more that way.
Rating: 88 points.
My Annoying Opinions 
Sounds fascinating! I do wish yeast experimentation were more of a thing, and that there were more generally more of a focus on raw ingredients and process in the industry, other than the same old wood-and-peat-driven marketing and yield-oriented production. One can dream I suppose! But at least there are some niche producers willing to muck about with this stuff.
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Is Loch Lomond a niche producer though? My sense is that they produce at great volume across their malt and grain lines. I wonder where in their products something like this ends up, or if this was part of an experimental run.
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Fair point. I guess I think of them as one, but I don’t actually know what their outturn is. Certainly their approach to production and marketing strikes me as outside of the mainstream. I’d be surprised if you see Diageo distilleries releasing specialty yeast bottlings any time soon.
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True but they didn’t really release this—it was a cask acquired by the SMWS. Diageo distilleries probably run all kinds of experiments too that we never get to taste.
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Yes, even this isn’t an official release, I was a bit sloppy there – but that’s precisely the thing that I’m lamenting, that most of the experimentation (if there is any) happens behind closed doors, and what we as customers are presented with is a very polished (some might say lifeless) version of what whisky is/can be/should be.
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Yeah, I think the thing to remember, as always, is that the real whisky market is the blend market and outside of boutique/farm operations—or a place like Springbank—all experimentation is really done with blends in mind. Unless—as here—a bottler scores an unusual cask and releases it, we malt drinkers will probably never come across any of the experiments.
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Yup! And I don’t mean to be too much of a miseryguts about it. I can get a bit morose, but really it’s nice that there is quite a lot of whisky, much of it nice and some of it affordable. Thanks for your notes on this one!
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I forgot to say in the intro that the SMWS’s name for this one “Beautiful bizarre!”. Hence my comment about not calling it bizarre.
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