Review #811 - SMWS 135.70 'A Distant Campfire After Rain' - Loch Lomond (Inchmoan) 10 Year
This example of peated Loch Lomond spirt bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a little bit more special to us than the average SMWS bottle; it was bottled as a part of 'The Tasting Panel Experience' in 2025, a series of events during which US SMWS members are allowed to taste cask samples of whiskies from various distilleries and subsequently vote on which should be bottled. We were lucky enough to attend this event in March of 2025; about 6 months later, in the autumn, the bottles were finally ready to be distributed.
There was a selection of 6 whiskies to taste during the 2025 experience: a 21 year Glen Garioch, a 13 year Mannochmore, a 14 year Tomintoul, a 14 year Teaninich, this 9 (10) year Loch Lomond, and a 15 year Caol Ila. While this whisky was bottled at a final age of 10 years, it was actually 9 years old back when we originally tasted it; we scored it highly on that evening, but it was actually our third favorite, behind the 15 year Caol Ila and the 21 year Glen Garioch. The Tasting Panel Experience averages all of the scores across the members who participate; in the end, the Caol Ila, Tomintoul, and this Loch Lomond were selected.
The Loch Lomond distillery actually produces several types of spirit, both peated and unpeated, single malt and single grain, and using various types of still, such as pot, column, and Lomond style. This SMWS bottling is of the 'Inchmoan' style of LL spirit, which is heavily-peated single malt; because of that potent phenol level, it tends to excel at a relatively young age.
This whisky spent its full 10 years of maturation in a first fill ex-bourbon cask, and in the end, it was bottled at a punchy strength of 61.4% ABV; the price was quite reasonable (in the realm of SMWS pricing, at least): $115 here in the US.
SMWS 135.70 'A Distant Campfire After Rain' - Loch Lomond (Inchmoan) 10 Year
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price: USD 115 (2025)
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 61.4% ABV
Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon barrel
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled March 17, 2015; 177 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Yellow fruits like overripe banana and mango, black pepper spice, and strong peat smoke greet us up front. Honey syrup, passionfruit, and peach rind add more sweetness; we also find mineral notes, estery notes, and a bit of wood smoke and charcoal. Pina colada, acidic pineapple and salt are accents, and it has good complexity overall.
Palate: Candied mango, pineapple - quite sweet and tropical like the nose. The mouthfeel is thick, with excellent chewy texture; relatively strong peat smoke builds behind that, and we get spices like smoked paprika and chili powder. Lemon drop candies, creamy malt spirit, vanilla, and ash... agave and industrial notes are accents.
Finish: Creamy vanilla and musty smoke continue from the palate, and we get some accents to the malt profile including vegetal flavors, banana, and salt. Lemon, passionfruit, and mango continue the fruit side; there's just a hint of savory cooking spice in the aftertaste, as well as effervescent heather. It's a medium-long finish.
Final Note: This is a delicious peaty single malt from Loch Lomond. So much flavor and complexity packed into the spirit in just 10 years despite the simple cask choice; it goes to show how good the distillate coming out of Loch Lomond is. On top of the great flavor, the texture here is a treat: really chewy and dense, with a lot of layers.
The SMWS has released quite a few of those young, peaty whiskies from this distillery in recent years, and we think they're some of the best value that the Society is putting out due to the relatively reasonable price points compared to their other bottles. Very good value here, and we'll continued to buy SMWS Loch Lomonds from the peated flavor profiles.
Our Rating: 8.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.85
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
