Inchmurrin 13 Year (SMWS 122.66 "Dark and Flaming")

 

This was one of those Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) bottlings that I just couldn't pass up - a Loch Lomond (under their Inchmurrin imprint) aged for 11 years in ex-bourbon casks and then ... drumroll please ... another 2 years in a new oak heavy char #4 "alligator" casks. It is pretty unusual to find a #4 in scotch in general (more common in bourbon), let alone in an independent bottling like this. I simply had to try it. Bottled at a very stiff 64.4%, in typical craft presentation, nicknamed "Dark and Flaming." Let's see what alligator char does to a typically sweet, vanilla-forward spirit...

Nose: Butterscotch pudding (that is so say: browned butter, molasses, salt), fresh sugar cookies from the oven (strong vanilla tones), toasted marshmallows (the #4 char). Scorched banana, like you find in Ardbeg. Weirder, darker overtones emerge both after time in the glass, and with water: charcoal or tar. Motor oil? Hemp linen?? 

Mouthfeel: Heavy, oily, resinous. 

Palate: Follows the nose at first: butterscotch pudding, fresh sugar cookies, toasted marshmallows. Then strange herbal and spiced flavors (cardamom, menthol, nutmeg, cinnamon, pink peppercorn) dry the palate immensely yet don't quite interrupt the overall impression of sweetness. Then, strong, sweeping poached pear in sugar syrup. Then the heavy char comes through at the end of the development: strong burned wood and ash.

Finish: Short and dry and ashy with almost an effervescent champagne quality. Lingering vanilla. 

Verdict: Wow! More complex than I would have guessed, for a vanilla bomb heavy char #4 from Inchmurrin. A real bourbon lovers scotch, has a lot of wood, of course, with marshmallow and vanilla... But many interesting spices and herbs too, that balance the sweetness a bit, and provide maybe the driest finish I can remember. Worth seeking out, absolutely.