Given the huge array of whisky that Loch Lomond produces, it’s difficult to really narrow down which ones to pick when it comes to ‘my best recommendations’. However, the collection of whiskies below really do show off the biggest scope of what this distillery can do.
Whether you’re looking for a classic ‘house’ style or something that blends some more extreme options that the distillery can produce, everything below should provide you with a very tasty option for your next glass of whisky.
Inchmurrin 12 Year Old, 46%.
Of all of the core releases in the Loch Lomond range, Inchmurrin is the simplest to explain. A fully ex-bourbon cask matured expression that utilises their straight neck pot stills, and is fully unpeated.
This liquid comes off the stills at 85% ABV and is watered down to make the liquid more attainable to the wood once put into cask, but it’s the collection of the whisky at that very high strength that provides those super clean, refreshing notes of melon, blackcurrant and some more tropical fruit driven aromas. 5 Whiskies to Try if You Love Chivas Regal 12
It’s a perfect ‘anytime’ pour but once the heat hits and you want Scottish single malt, Inchmurrin 12 served neat or in some form of highball or sour is a truly wonderful thing. Crisp, bright, refreshing and flavourful!
Loch Lomond Waypoint 16 Year Old, 46.2% – Falls of Falloch.
Much like the Inchmurrin mentioned above, this is also a fully unpeated style from Loch Lomond, but with the whisky being distilled exclusively in their classic swan neck pot stills, a still type the distillery didn’t have until 1998!
Matured for most of its life in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in ex-Cognac casks, the first time I tried this whisky it transported me to an apple orchard. It’s a really fresh, older style of single malt that runs heavy with honey suckle, raw honey, peach and waxy fruits and citrus towards the end of the taste.
A really interesting and welcome addition to the Loch Lomond range, although not a bottle that will always be around, so get one while you can!
Loch Lomond 18 Year Old, 46%
A combination of their swan neck and straight neck stills, also containing the tiniest amount of peated distillate, Loch Lomond 18 Year Old tells a different story when it comes to flavour experience. The whiskies were matured in three different types of American oak.
We’ve a combination of first fill American oak (coconut, toffee, honey and vanilla), refill American oak (honey, toffee, apple and pear) and re-charred American Oak (tobacco, vanilla, brown sugar and soft spices). With Loch Lomond having their own cooperage on site, they can control the level of re-char to whatever degree they want.
The little bit of peat comes through on this at the end, my personal belief is that the refill and re-char really help push this as the whisky gets older. A wonderfully old whisky with numerous gold medals to its name, it’s so well priced in the current market, too.
Loch Lomond Original Peated Rioja Cask, 40%.
A combination of low strength straight neck still distillate and both peated and unpeated distillates from their swan neck stills, you literally get the best of all of the flavours from the distillery with this release.
It’s quite a new release and does show off how good the liquids can be at an entry level price point as well.
Matured in a few different styles of American oak and the finished in first fill Rioja wine casks, you get a really dense red fruit character that balances out with the caramel driven American oak influences and that peatiness that is so approachable.
Other notes of chocolate orange and peach are really present in the whisky, it’s overall quite an incredible buy if you don’t want to overspend and have a lot of flavours available.
Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain ‘Grainstorm’, 46%.
Whenever I talk about single grain whisky, it’s normally unpeated, at least 99% of the time. Loch Lomond is the only distillery that constantly produces a peated grain whisky, but its made from peated barley! Distilled through their 100% copper column still.
Named Grainstorm and created from 100% heavily peated malted barley, this liquid has been distilled in Loch Lomond’s rather unique copper column still. Single grain is normally a sweet profile, this does have some of that but with barley being the only grain, you get a richer, creamier feel when it comes to both texture and flavour.
This whisky sits perfectly in the spicy, sweet and savoury character. It always reminds me of sweet peat, lime, fresh apples and liquorice. There are some big fruit notes all over this whisky, but the way it moves between smoky, spicy, sweet and then into savory will keep you on your toes when it comes to this very distinct single grain.
Loch Lomond Waypoint Series 31 Year Old, 44.1%
Now this bottle released this month, but I was lucky enough to try it back in April this year (2026). Matured in ex-bourbon for most of its life before a finish in ex-Tawny Port casks, containing a small amount of peated distillate – this thing will take you on quite the wild ride of style.
The peated side of this, despite being thirty-one years old, really shines. The Tawny Port influences are definitely inspiring this as you get this excellent note of tart black cherry and fresh green apple.
The smokiness starts to filter through after this, but it’s gentle and quite ambient. A few other folks I was in the room with when I tried it thought it was a little more medicinal, but as a big peaty whisky fan, I found this very subtle and elegant.
It’s also worth pointing out that before this whisky has even been released, it’s scored a 99/100 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Gold Medal at the International Spirits Challenge.
Overall
No matter which option you go for in the above, or any Loch Lomond product in general. There aren’t many distilleries in Scotland that will show and tell you everything you could ever want to know about what’s going into your glass. Different still types, barrel influences, no peat, some peat, all the peat, it’s just a remarkable selection of whiskies to fit any flavour profile you could ever want in your cabinet.
Read the full article at 6 Loch Lomond Whiskies You Need to Try This Autumn
