Inchgower 12 Years Old 2013 The Alba Trail (Alba Import)

On the Cromarty side of the Moray Firth, Inchgower distils a coastal, savoury malt that has fed Bell's and other Diageo blends for decades. Alba Import bottled this, distilled in 2013, and released it at 12 years old in its The Alba Trail range. It was released for Germany.

Inchgower's four stills carry steeply angled lyne arms that hold back the heavier, oilier vapours, part of why the malt comes out nutty, waxy and faintly saline. This bottling matured in an Oloroso sherry cask.

Bottled at 46%, the Oloroso wood gives dried fruit, melanoidins reading as fig and raisin with tannins adding a walnut dryness. At 12 years the wood and the salty, nutty spirit are roughly in balance.