Inchmurrin 2009 Manzanilla Single Cask
May’s whisky was exceptional in every sense. Aside from being the last remaining Scotch brand made exclusively on Lomond stills, it was finished in first-fill Manzanilla casks, a variety of sherry rarely used in whisky.
United KingdomColour Chestnut
Nose Intense and almost creamy with dried fruits, raisins and vanilla. Even a touch of custard.
Palate Soft and sweet with green apple, candied orange peel and more raisins followed by salted caramel.
Finish Initially sweet with melted brown sugar and hazelnuts before the trademark Manzanilla dry saltiness comes through towards the end. Quite long and lingering, almost with the sensation of popping candy. Moreish.
Food Match Brie, don’t look any further. Grab a massive slab.
Overview
Set up to be totally self-sufficient, much like a Japanese distillery, Loch Lomond is one of only two remaining “dual” whisky distilleries in Scotland distilling both grain and malt whisky in the same facility. While dual distilleries were common in the 19th century, consolidation and efficiencies during the 20th century meant that nowadays distilleries are either one or the other. Loch Lomond has bucked the trend and taken it a step further. Today the distillery features a set of traditional pot stills, three sets of Lomond stills (the last in Scotland) and three column stills. This enviable set-up allows Loch Lomond to not only make grain spirit, but also eight completely unique styles of malt spirit, from which they can make countless combinations of both single malt and blends. Most importantly, unlike anyone else, they don’t have to rely on other producers to supply whisky for their blends
A Lomond still, as you’re no doubt wondering, is a hybrid style of still that features a traditional pot but is fitted with a rectifying head (like a column still). This allows the stillman to create various styles of whisky on the same still; everything from heavy, oily whiskies through to very light floral whiskies, all at various strengths and all from a single apparatus.
Loch Lomond Distillery produces four single malt styles, each under a separate brand. Loch Lomond (slightly peated) and Inchmoan (heavily peated) combine spirit from both traditional pot stills and Lomond stills, while Inchmurrin (unpeated) is made exclusively from high strength spirit off the Lomond stills. It is the last and only remaining example of this style of Scotch whisky.
Which brings us to our whisky this month, the 2009 Inchmurrin Manzanilla Finish Single Cask Single Malt for The Whisky Club.
Truly unique in every sense; not only is it the last remaining Scotch brand made exclusively on Lomond stills, it’s also been finished in first fill Manzanilla casks, a style of sherry rarely used in whisky. The result, of course, is just delicious as you’ll soon discover for yourself upon opening this month’s malt. But first a bit more on Manzanilla to fully appreciate it…
Manzanilla is a young, pale, dry, Fino style sherry from the coastal region of south-west Spain and maturation is concentrated around the harbour town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Its seaside location off the Atlantic Ocean gives Manzanilla sherry a salty, fresh marine flavour which comes through beautifully in the whisky. It adds a fantastic layer of hazelnut, apples and caramel to the typical raisin and sultana notes expected from a sherry cask, while also bringing a beautiful tangy, salty dryness that you don’t get with other types of sherry casks. Quite simply, this is a beautiful malt that very few whisky lovers around the world have had the pleasure of savouring and it deserves a special spot on your shelf!
Initially filled into cask on the 20 March 2009, it was recasked into first-fill Manzanilla sherry butts in November 2016 before being bottled for us in January 2018, non-chill filtered and natural colour, just the way we like it!
THE SPECS
Price: $110.00
Age: 8 Years and 10 Months Old
ABV: 46%
Maturation: Matured in refill casks for seven years followed by a second 15 month maturation in first-fill Manzanilla sherry butts
Ready to enjoy a world-class whisky collection?
Your free Club Membership gives access to exclusive single malt from Scotland, Australia and the world’s best distilleries. Enjoy the unrivalled buying power of Australia's biggest whisky club.
Loch Lomond's History
Loch Lomond is one of Scotland’s most famous and beautiful landmarks and delineates the boundary between the Lowlands and Highlands.
Distillery Facts
Region: Highlands
Origin: Lomond Estate, Alexandria, Scotland G83 0TL, United Kingdom
Founded: 1963
Water Source: 9 boreholes on site
Washbacks: 21, Stainless Steel (10 x 25,000 litres and 11 x 50,000 litres)
Stills: 3 sets of Lomond stills (wash and spirit), 1 set traditional pot stills (wash and spirit) and 3 sets of column stills (analyser and rectifier)
Capacity: 23,000,000 litres per annum of grain whisky and 2,000,000 litres per annum of malt whisky
Ready to enjoy a world-class whisky collection?
Your free Club Membership gives access to exclusive single malt from Scotland, Australia and the world’s best distilleries. Enjoy the unrivalled buying power of Australia's biggest whisky club.