Carn Mor Loch Lomond Tasting Notes

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Loch Lomond (Croftenga) 2010 (6 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Dist: 2010 Btl: Feb 2017/ Tasted: Jan 2017

Initially a little feinty to begin with on the nose, but it settles down to show manuery peat, burnt heather and barley. Hints of grainy, coffee’d oak follow along with a touch of earth. Vigorous and vibrant.

The palate is young, with a few rough edges, but the pleasantly sweet barley offsets. Like the nose there is plenty of manurey peat, which melds with woodier peat notes and oily peat notes. There isn’t much in the way of oak notes, so the spirit is on full display. Good length with grapefruit, coal dust and a touch of vanilla.

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Loch Lomond (Peated) 2010 (8 year old) 46%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 2013 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Oct 2018

The nose is earthy and gritty with raw peat and sweet strawberry scented rose petal marc. Slightly ascetic with raw cereal and with time a touch of medicinal peat and crisp citrus.

The palate is fuller and rounder as it displays more toffee’d oak and sweet barley. Hints of earth, raw peat,  and macerated fruit follow as does some intrusive alcohol. Youthful, short finish with lingering smoked meat, black peppercorn and dry peat. Weird and wonderful!

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Loch Lomond (Croftengea) 2010 (9 year old) 47.5%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 2010 Btl: 2020/ Tasted: Mar 2020

The nose is quite heavily peated and sooty with barley, lime, white fruit and bog myrtle. In fact it is a dead ringer for old skool Caol Ila. Lovely, bracing freshness and subtle fruitiness with late black pepper and rhubarb leaf.

The palate opens with barley and subtle strawberry notes. Like the nose it is fairly heavily peated and sooty with a touch of herbal peat as well. Hints of lime, pepper, rhubarb and apple appear. Good intensity and length with lingering herbal/ mentholated peat, soot and sweet barley.

Hunter Laing Loch Lomond Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Croftenga 2005 (13 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2778/ HL15148

Dist: Feb 2005 Btl: Apr 2018/ Tasted: Aug 2018

The nose is a little feinty with earthy peat, celery, white fruit and then, straight outta left field comes some gooseberry and sweet, strawberry mousse notes! Late hints of nettles, bay leaf, tobacco and cigar ash. An odd but entertaining nose!

The palate is again slightly feinthy and cereally. Quite raw with barley and gritty peat smoke. Slightly earthy and fishy on the middle with a building alcohol astringency, although a little honey and syrup coated strawberry softens. Long, gippy and sooty with lingering barley, strawberry and malt. It comes across like a vatting of ‘toshan and Ardmore! Very entertaining, but not everyone’s cup of tea!

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Inchmurrin 1996 (24 year old) 50%

OMC3042/ Dist: Aug 1996 Btl: 2021?

Tasted: June 2021

Aromas of mature, duty oak and funky herbal notes. Slighly meaty with a touch of earthy peat smoke. Wonderfully mature with subtle oxidised fruit, malt extract, pastry, dark fruit, rich vanilla toffee, date and coffee.

The palate is full, rich and gritty with a subtle herbal funkiness. It does become a little cardboardy on the middle, which is a shame. Oxidised mature fruit and vanilla follow. Medium length, a little austere as the alcohol and citrus combine. Lingering funky dried fruit and spice. In conclusion: Great nose, shame about the palate!

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Inchmurrin 1984 (31 year old) 47.1%

Refill Bourbon Barrel/ Code: OMC2557/ HL12255

Dist: Jun 1984 Btl: Apr 2016/ Tasted: May 2016

An oily, lanolin heavy nose with an echo of dusty peat. Edgy apricot, tight oak tannins and taught, herbal rye-like notes follow. Suddenly it opens to show malt, fig, lime, Bourbony oak and uber sweet but dusty spice. Very unusual! If I was tasting it blind I would have thought it was some sort of malt/ rye hybrid. Late hints of sweet sherry. It certainly doesn’t feel its age.

The palate opens with candied raspberry and oily, almost feinty notes. Hints of dark rye bread, lanolin, rose oil follow. Now that’s an odd but rather enticing combination! Very left field but the balance of sugars and oils is spot on. A touch of honey comes through on the middle along with barley and some rye-like herbal spice. Long and oily with lingering old, marc-like rose petals, herbs and again an echo of dusty peat. I love it!

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Inchmurrin 1984 (32 year old) 46.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2649/ HL13362

Dist: Jun 1984 Btl: Feb 2017 / Tasted: Mar 2017

Heavy, oily aromas of old marc, lanolin and fairly tarry peat. A touch of malt, vanilla and mature oak appear. With time it sweetens a little as some toffee and barley notes come through.

The palate is oily with lanolin, old marc and dusty peat. The oils become quite heavy and a touch of cigar ash, citrus, biting spices and edgy herbal notes come through on the middle. Long and a little sweeter as the honey and vanilla powder appears. Very unusual and interesting!

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Croftenga (Loch Lomond) ‘Nice & peaty’ 2006 (9 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: HEP0150/ Dist: Mar 2006 Btl: Jan 2016/ Tasted: Feb 2016

Sulphury (not sherry sulphur) and metallic aromas. Yes there is some peat but it’s covered by the soapy spirit character. Lightly herbal and lightly cardboardy. A big disappointment.

The palate is meaty, sulphury and cardboardy. A lovely evil trio of flavours! Slightly herbal with some earthy peat and murky cardoardy spices on the finish. That’s my palate shot for the evening!

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Inchfad 2005 (13 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: HEP0352/ Dist: Mar 2005 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Dec 2018

An astringent, raw, cerally and non cask related sulphury nose with a metallic edge. Yes, it’s that pleasant! Slightly peated with a dry peat character and hints of sweet rose petal marc.

The palate is metallic and raw with cereal and sweet strawberry and rose petal notes. Slightly citric on the middle but that metallic twang stays. Hints of earthy peat and sharpening citrus notes on the finish, which incidentally is pretty hot.

Loch Lomond Distillery Bottlings Tasting Notes

Loch Lomond Original NAS 40%

Tasted: Mar 2018

The nose displays and almost column still-like freshness with a touch of malt, maurey peat, earth and old wood.

The palate is crisp, fresh and a little spirity. Again malt, straw and earthy peat combines well but it’s a little rough and ready it has to be said. A touch of estery banana and honey attempt to balance the edginess. Short-ish and youthful with earth, malt and subtle peat in the finish. Oily, sweet-ish spice after-taste.

Loch Lomond Single Grain Scotch 46%

Malted Barley mash distilled in the coffey still, aged in ex-Bourbon

Tasted: May 2021

The nose displays loads of sweet oak – vanilla, coconut, almonds and a touch of honey. The spirit itself is slightly floral and surprisingly lacking any high toned Turkish delight notes, which I would have expected. With time there are hints of barley, malt, toffee and heather.

The spirit is surprisingly robust on the palate. Slightly oily with plenty of sweet, nutty, toasty oak and vanilla. A touch of barley and honey appears on the middle. Long and quite spicy with a touch of grainy dried fruit in the finish. In conclusion: It’s a pleasant, unpretentious quaffer!

Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain 46%

Tasted: June 2020

A crisp, fresh and barley’d nose with hints of white fruit, Turkish delight and earthy peat. Hints of malt, sweet peat, heather and vanilla appear.

The palate opens with the sweet barley and what appears to be first fill American oak, as there is plenty of vanilla and coconut ice-cream. The peat is pleasantly phenolic and earthy and there is a little rose petal young spirit showing. Subtly astringent with salt and white fruit on the middle. Medium length, continuing with the astringent peat and white fruit.

Loch Lomond 12 year old 46%

Bourbon, refill (Bourbon?) and recharred (Bourbon?) casks

Tasted: Feb 2017

A fragrant nose of heather and rich fruit – apricot, peach and hints of honey and barley. The oak is pretty intense and a little gritty, with distinct charred notes as well. With time a subtle, sweet peat note appears.

The palate is soft and full with a touch of oily barley to begin. Richly fruited with apricot, honey and some heavy oak, which isn’t a surprise. The balance between the spirit character and oak is just about right and the finish displays a good degree of palate cleansing citrus. Finally some heather and earthy peat smoke arrive and a little bitter, dark chocolate.

Loch Lomond 12 year old 46%

Code: L2 05118/ Btl: Feb 2018/ Tasted: Nov 2020

The nose is funky and herbal with barley and hints of ‘toshan-like rose petal and black pepper. With time sweet dried fruit, nutmeg, burnt wood and cinnamon sticks.

The palate opens with the subtle dried fruit, vanilla and sweet honey. Edgy herbal notes and a touch of pepper and nutmeg follow. The herbal funkiness builds on the middle along with some salt and malt. Long and malty with rose petals, pepper, earth and gritty spice in the finish.

Inchfad Distillery Select 2001 (5 year old) 45%

Bourbon Cask 666/ Dist: Feb 2001 Btl: Jun 2006/ Tasted: Oct 2009

Well it had to be tasted didn’t it? The Devil’s own cask! – A young, lightly honeyed cereal nose. Which is definitely not as peated as one would expect from a ‘heavy peating level’. Although in saying that the peat has a lovely crumbly-briquettes/ oily texture. There is a slight perfumed white citrus and a high toned/ floral note. There is a youthful rawness to it but it doesn’t scream at you and is quite rounded.

The palate is leads off with the youthful, gristy cereal and a touch of marc. Quite soft with a pleasant barley sweetness. The oak and the alcohol combine to dry the middle out but it has a good length with the peat and white fruit emerging in the finish and a slight perfumed after taste. It has an endearing crispness, but could hardly be called the Devils brew!

Inchmoan Distillery Select 2001 (4 year old) 45%

Bourbon Cask 48/ Dist: Mar 2001 Btl: Apr 2005/ Tasted: Aug 2005

A pungent nose of youthful, earthy cereal and citrus fruit mingling with a bit of peat smoke, all set against some subtle bourbon oak. The palate opens with straw/ grass and citrus fruit followed by some gentle smoke and quite a peated middle. Hot and short leaving a slight touch of coal dust and spice.

With water it brings out an oily orange note and a tad more fruit on the palate, but it’s still a bit raw and youthful and the peat seems to have drifted off somewhere.

Loch Lomond ‘Islands Collection’ Inchmurrin 12 year old 46%

(First Fill?) Bourbon, refill (American oak?) casks and re-charred (American oak?) casks

Tasted: Nov 2016

Lightly gristy and fragrant with herbal and citric notes. Toasty American oak and grainy coffeed’d charred oak notes follow along with a touch of heathery peat, juicy barley and hints of oxidised fruit and burnt wood.

The palate opens with the tight oak tannins and hints of barley, malt. herbs, vanilla, coffee, bitter dark chocolate and heathery peat. However the charred oak is omnipresent. Long, robust and malty finish with hints of milk chocolate, coffee and drying tannins.

Loch Lomond ‘Islands Collection’ Inchmurrin Madeira Wood Finish 46%

Bourbon/ Madeira

Tasted: Nov 2016

A full nose of spicy baked fruit and hints of pepper, maderised dried fruit, honey, heather, barley and marzipan. Quite rich and nutty.

The palate is full and nutty with both oxidised and baked fruit, toasty oak and a little hard barley. Subtly smoked with a developing light meatiness and maltiness. The finish is a little hot with a dry, tannic finish and lingering almond shell.

Loch Lomond ‘Islands Collection’ Inchmoan 12 year old 46%

Re-charred American oak and refill Bourbon. Pot & Lomond Still

Code: L2 05819/ Btl: Feb 2019/ Tasted: May 2021

The nose is funky, edgy and slightly savoury with earth, malt, dry peat, sweet rose Turkish delight and herbal nuances. With time pepper, peat smoke, barley and vanilla.

The palate opens with the dark malt and rich stewed fruit. There’s a subtler herbal peat and funky spirit character. The Lomond still component adds an almost grainy dried fruit note. Long, salty and spicy with lingering dry peat, sweet malt and charred oak.