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That Boutique-y Whisky Company are an independent bottler of whiskies. Part of Atom Brands, the firm that owns Master of Malt and The Character of Islay, Boutique-y Whisky have released some interesting drams from distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, the US and just about everywhere else you can find whisky being made. Towards the end of last year, Atom sent me their Boutique-y Advent Calendar and one of the drams that really caught my attention was a 13 year old Inchfad single malt, distilled at Loch Lomond distillery.
Loch Lomond distillery lies in Alexandria, just a few miles from the bonnie banks of the famous loch. Originally built in 1964 by the owners of the closed Littlemill distillery, Loch Lomond has changed hands multiple times in the 5 decades of its existence. Under the current management however, the brand has been somewhat reinvigorated with significant investment and a new range of products bringing success to their once unfashionable single malt.
Loch Lomond is possibly the most versatile distillery in Scotland, maybe the world, with a range of different still designs installed. Using different combinations of Lomond stills, Pot stills and Column stills, the distillery can produce up to 11 different new makes, each of which is given its own title. One such spirit is known as Inchfad, a name taken from one of the island’s that are found dotted around the loch. Inchfad was once the site of a distillery itself, the ruins of which can still be seen today, along with the canal that was dug to provide greater access for the supplies brought in by boat. Little is known about it, other than it was owned by the MacFarlane family, who’s descendant’s own a boatyard at Balmaha and run the only mail service to the islands.
That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 13 year old Inchfad is bottled at 49.5% and retails at £58.95, coming in a 50cl bottle.
*Full disclosure: I was sent the advent calendar which contained this sample free of charge, as always I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.
Smell: Malt and honey. Biscuit. Baking spices. Little bit of fresh oak. Apple and pear. Nutty with gentle smoke.
Taste: Honey, apple, orange, cinnamon and clove. Chocolate. Shortbread. Oak and ashy smoke on the finish.
Thoughts: It’s a nice enough dram, especially with water added and £58.95 would be great value were it a full size bottle. At 50cl the situation changes a little but the quality is still of a decent standard.
The smoke was less forceful than I perhaps expected. I’m a sucker for a smoke monster though so anything less than Laphroaig tastes tame to me! There’s a nice balance between cask and spirit though and plenty of complexity to keep you interested. Nice dram and I suppose it won’t break the bank, even if you do get less of it.
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*If the dram reviewed in this article has caught your eye, you can buy it from Master of Malt here. Bear in mind that as an affiliate I can be paid a small commission on purchases you make after following links from my page.
For more on That Boutique-y Whisky Company visit here.
For more on Loch Lomond distillery visit here.
