Inchmurrin 10 Year Old - 1990s

Inchmurrin is the name given to one of the unpeated single malt whiskies made at experimental distillery Loch Lomond, whose 11 stills are capable of producing a wide range of spirit styles. Previously, several other unpeated or lightly peated spirits were bottled by Loch Lomond including Loch Lomond, Glen Douglas and Old Rhosdhu, but after a recent range revamp by owners Hillhouse Capital, Inchmurrin is now the umbrella brand name for all Loch Lomond’s light, sweet, fruity whiskies. 

Like the distillery’s peated whisky Inchmoan, the Inchmurrin spirit is made on Loch Lomond’s straight necked pot stills, which are equipped with three rectifying plates inside the neck. Newer official bottlings of Inchmurrin are a mix of Loch Lomond’s different unpeated or lightly peated spirits, but older Inchmurrin bottlings (and newer single casks) are of the Inchmurrin spirit alone and are gentle, highly fruity whiskies.

Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.

This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.