Whisky Focus - The Three Wise Men Of Loch Lomond - Cristmas Whisky Cocktail Recipes

The Three Wise Men Of Loch Lomond


10th December 2018
Review of the Loch Lomond 12 year old, Inchmurrin 12 year old and Inchmoan 12 year old and three Christmas whisky cocktails ideas which utilises these three single malt whiskies from the Loch Lomond distillery.

The Three Wise Men Of Loch Lomond Christmas Whisky Cocktails

With Christmas now just over a couple of weeks away this site sees a huge increase in visitors from whisky drinkers looking for something different to treat themselves to over the cold winter months and holiday season as well as whisky gift buyers in search of ideas for what to buy for their whisky loving friends or family so I thought I would bring three whiskies to your attention which you may not have considered.

The three whiskies are all produced at one of the most extraordinary whisky distillery's in Scotland that you are ever likely to come across, Loch Lomond. What makes Loch Lomond distillery so different is its ability to produce more than one style of single malt whisky and the reason for this is that it uses some rather unusual design pot stills. The distillery has two traditional pot stills and six unique "Lomond Style" straight neck pot stills which can produce whiskies of different weights because of the rectifying columns in the still head. These rectifying columns effectively let the distiller adjust the length of the still neck which adjusts the weight and eventually style of the final whisky which will be bottled.

The use of these unusual stills at Loch Lomond combined with the fact they produce both peated and unpeated whisky and of course their use of different types of oak casks for maturation and finally the creative skill of their master blender when bringing the maturing single malt whisky together for bottling means that Loch Lomond produces a number of different styles of single malt whiskies and in recent years these have been of very good quality.

The three single malt whiskies which are all produced at the Loch Lomond distillery which I wanted to highlight are the Loch Lomond 12 Year Old, Inchmurrin 12 Year Old and the peated Inchmoan 12 Year Old.

Also in keeping with the approaching festive season and being aware of the ever increasing popularity of whisky cocktails I thought I would share with you three festive whisky cocktail recipes which utilises these three whiskies which are rather aptly named "The Three Wise Men of Loch Lomond"

You will find all three of the Loch Lomond single malt whiskies as well as the ingredients and tools needed to create The Three Wise Men Of Loch Lomond Christmas Cocktails listed below available from specialist online whisky retailers such as The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky Shop and Master of Malt
 

Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Review & Christmas Cocktail


The Loch Lomond 12 year old contains whisky produced in two types of still, Loch Lomond's traditional copper pot stills and their unique "Lomond" style copper pot stills equipped with rectifying heads which can be used to vary the length of the still neck. It was matured in a combination of three types of cask, Bourbon, Refill and Recharged casks and then brought together under the watchful eye of master distiller Michael Henry.

The Loch Lomond 12 year old is bottled at 46% ABV, it is currently available from specialist whisky shops such as Master of Malt

Loch Lomond 12 Year Old ReviewWilliam Morrison's Tasting Notes:

Nose:  Sweet malt and candied pear, a little lemon and some spice in the background.

Taste: Deliciously sweet, fresh and rich mouth coating fruit, candied pear and lemon, a touch of vanilla and a mild touch of ginger.

Finish: A lovely longish finish. Crisp sugar and fruit fade to leave some oaky digestive biscuit and that little touch of ginger.

Comment: A deliciously sweet fruity malt with just a touch of gentle spice, loved it. It is a around £38 for the 70cl bottle and £45 for the 1 litre travel retail bottle, well worth the price tag. Great to see Loch Lomond turning out such quality whisky and at a very drinkable price. A thoroughly enjoyable malt whisky, don't overlook it.

SMW Score 91/100

Loch Lomond Sparkling Gold Christmas Cocktail:

Ingredients:
25ml of Loch Lomond 12 Year Old
15ml of Golden Honey
15ml of Ginger syrup
Prosecco
Gold Flakes (optional)

Method:
Combine Loch Lomond 12 Year Old with the golden honey and ginger syrup and chill down over ice before straining into at chilled flute glass and topping with sparkling Prosecco. To add a little sparkle, top with a pinch of edible gold flakes.
 

Inchmurrin 12 Year Old Review & Christmas Cocktail


The Inchmurrin 12 year old from the Loch Lomond distillery's Island Collection was matured in a combination of three types of cask, Bourbon, Refill and Recharged casks just like the standard Loch Lomond 12 year old was but it is definitely a different whisky.

Inchmurrin 12 Year Old ReviewThe Inchmurrin 12 year old is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill-filtered, it is currently available from specialist whisky shops such as Master of Malt


William Morrison's Tasting Notes:

Nose:  A mix of grapefruit, pear, honey and toffee.

Taste: The toffee and grapefruit from the nose is joined by a little butterscotch. A lovely Demerara sugar sweetness boosts the pleasure, some vanilla and touch of orange joins the procession but are beaten back by the grapefruit.

Finish: A longish finish, the grapefruit is still hanging in there, a little peppery, some fudge and mildly drying oak spice.

Comment: After the superb Loch Lomond 12 year old I had high hopes for this, although I can't fault it, it isn't quite in the same league as the Loch Lomond 12 for quality and pleasure.

According to Loch Lomond it was matured in the same combination of three types of cask, Bourbon, Refill and Recharged casks as the standard Loch Lomond 12 year old was but it is definitely a different whisky and obviously the proportion of of each cask in the mix for the Inchmurrin was quite different from that of the standard Loch Lomond 12. The Inchmurrin is still an enjoyable dram but for the price it is difficult to look past the Loch Lomond 12 but still worth a try on your whisky journey.

SMW Score 82/100

Inchmurrin Aromatic Frankincense Christmas Cocktail:

Ingredients:
25ml of Inchmurrin 12 Year Old
15ml Aperol
15ml Sweet Vermouth
A splash of soda
Orange peel to garnish

Method:
Simply add Inchmurrin 12 Year Old, Aperol and Sweet Vermouth to a large wine glass over cubed ice. Stir these ingredients together for 10 seconds and add more ice if needed. Top with sparkling soda and gently stir together. Garnish with orange peel.
 

Inchmoan 12 Year Old Review & Christmas Cocktail


The peaty Inchmoan single malt takes its name from one of the many islands found in Loch Lomond and rather appropriately ‘Inch-moan’ is Scottish Gaelic for ‘the island of the peat’

Inchmoan 12 Year Old is a combination of malt whiskies from the distillery’s traditional swan neck and unique straight neck pot stills which has created an unconventional peat character with depth, marrying smoke and spiciness.

It was matured for 12 years in a combination of re-charred American oak and refill bourbon American oak casks


Inchmoan 12 Year OldWilliam Morrison's Tasting Notes:

Nose: A gentle vanilla'd ashy smoke and a little candied sweetness.

Taste:
The sweet ashy peat smoke quickly develops a mild liquorice edge, it is joined by some lovely mouth coating peppery oak spice and there is a delicious gentle candied fruitiness lingering in the background.

Finish: Long, the fruitiness fades first followed by the smoke leaving roasted coffee and a lovely drying gentle oak spiciness.

Comment: A lovely smooth gently peated single malt with a nice touch of pepper and a little fruitiness to add to the pleasure.

SMW Score 85/100


Inchmoan Warming Myrrh Christmas Cocktail:

Ingredients:
25ml Inchmoan 12 Year Old
30ml of pressed apple
200 ml hot water
2 teaspoons of honey
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of nutmeg
A squeeze of fresh lemon
Lemon peel to garnish

Method:

Add the honey to a glass mug then half fill with the hot water and stir until fully dissolved. Add all other ingredients except for the lemon peel, and stir together for 10 seconds. Finally add the remaining hot water and serve, garnished with the lemon peel.
 

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