Limited – UK or EU specialty shops

Recommended

For the details…

The only coastal distillery on Speyside, the Inchgower distillery was founded in 1871, although its history traces back another 50 years before that.

Tochineal distillery, founded in 1825, was owned by the Wilson family. The distillery’s water supply went dry, and then owner Alexander Wilson moved the equipment from Tochineal to a new site about 6 miles away near the town of Buckie, thus founding Inchgower. It remained with the family until 1936, when the Wilson family business went bankrupt. 

To save the distillery, the Buckie town council took over operations until a suitable buyer could be found; two years later, it was purchased by blending firm Arthur Bell and Sons, with whose flagship Bell’s blend the distillery has a long association. Its capacity was doubled with the addition of two new stills in 1966.

Via a series of mergers and acquisitions in the 1980s and 1990s, Inchgower became part of the expansive portfolio of distilleries managed by what is now Diageo. It has some history of being bottled as a single, the most lasting being a 14 year old expression as part of UDV/Diageo’s Flora and Fauna range.

The Flora and Fauna range was created by Diageo precursor UDV to provide limited official bottlings from the numerous distilleries in their portfolio not promoted as mainline single malts. The idea was that they would be sold at UDV distillery visitor centers. The bottles are uniform in shape and size, and feature identical fonts and similar graphic design that showcases a plant or animal typical of the region around the distillery; because of the labeling convention, the late whisky-writer Michael Jackson dubbed them the “Flora and Fauna” range, and the usage became so widespread that even Diageo now refers to the range as such. Inchgower’s Flora and Fauna expression features an oyster-catcher, which is apparently a common sight on the beaches near the distillery.

The 14 year old Inchgower bottled in the Flora and Fauna range is a peculiar whisky, which I find to be elusively and ineffably delicious and moreish. Is it the most complex, most flavorful, or most mind-blowing whisky I’ve ever had? Not by a long shot. But do I feel more at ease when I have a bottle of it on my shelf, and does a pour always please me? Yes, very much so. It’s definitely on the lighter side of Speyside, but there’s a sharpness and austerity to the spirit that makes it intriguing in a way that other lighter Speysiders just aren’t. Below I review bottlings of Inchgower 14, probably around a decade apart.

Inchgower 14 year old (Flora and Fauna) 43% abv (tasted in 2022)

Nose: Fresh, mildly floral and aromatic; herbal. Loose-leaf green tea. Fresh thyme leaves. Just-sliced green apple. A faint mineralic note–tin can, and maybe it held tomato paste. Very faint salinity, or perhaps fresh sea breeze. Quite moreish.

Body: Quite light and slightly prickling.

Palate: Fresh, grassy and somewhat herbal, with traces of sour fruit. More tinned tomato sauce and green apple. Fresh mint. Blueberry green tea. Altogether austere with sharp sour fruit, grass and fresh herbs.

Finish: Medium length with dried herbs, and still a tea-like quality. Drying to faint burnt grass notes.

Score: 90/100

Who should buy it?: I’d recommend it to any whisky connoisseur who hasn’t had it. It’s not egregiously expensive, and it’s an intriguing whisky worth trying. You may or may not end up enjoying it as much as I do, but it’s certainly something of a personality.

Overall thoughts: A very moreish, sleeper of a whisky that is a low key favorite of mine.

Bottling Information:

Expression: Inchgower 14 43% abv

Bottler: Proprietor

Range: Flora and Fauna

Bottle Code: L1032DQ004 00000185

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: n/a

Price: $50-60

Availability: Some UK specialty shops such as The Whisky Exchange and Hard to find Whisky carry it quite reliably.

Inchgower 14 year old (Flora and Fauna) 43% abv (tasted early 2010s)

Nose: Very fresh; green apples; a bit of salt; dusty.

Body: Rather light.

Palate: Cocoa, some sweetness, grass; spiciness; citrus notes, still very fresh.

Finish: Wood, slight bitterness, drying with hints of perfume.

Score: 87/100

Bottling Information:

Expression: Inchgower 14 43% abv

Bottler: Proprietor

Range: Flora and Fauna

Bottle Code: L7116CS000 00262526

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: n/a

Price: $50

Availability: Hard to say, this was an older bottling and unless you’re better than I at deciphering Diageo bottle codes, it could be hard to figure out if there are any from its cohort left around.

Distillery Information:

Region: Speyside

Location: Buckie, Morayshire

Geography: Coastal

Date Founded: 1871

Owner: Diageo

Website: https://www.malts.com/en-us/

Capacity: 3,200,000

Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Lauter; WASHBACKS: 6; STILLS: 4; HEAT SOURCE: Steam; CONDENSER: Shell and Tube

Total expressions sampled: 4

Overall distillery score: A+

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