Tomatin 13yo 2010/2023

Tomatin 13yo 2010/2023

Soho Selection, Milroy’s of Soho
Single malt - Speyside
Bronze gold 
50.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, elderflower, wet stones, honey, sea salt, fresh baked bread, hints of coffee. With water, sandalwood, fresh baked bread, leather, lemon sweets. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Fresh baked bread, honey, elderflower, nectarines, coffee, leather, hints of lemon sweets. With water, fresh baked bread, lemon sweets, elderflower, coffee. 
Finish: Long. Coffee, grapefruit, nectarines, leather. 

Comments: 

Floral and rich, but also minerally. Lots of cereal notes underneath, and water brings out more floral notes with a robust bitterness. Rather good whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Cu Bocan Signature

Cu Bocan Signature 

Official bottling 
Single malt - Speyside
Bright gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Yoghurt, malted grains, leather, nutmeg, lemon sweets, vanilla, hints of smoke. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, airy, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sour salty. Yoghurt, sea salt, orange peel, raisins, lemon sweets, smoke, vanilla. 
Finish: Short. Lemon sweets, leather, smoke, peat, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Lactones, cereal, smoke and vanilla, that’s the label that should be on this whisky. I’ve not had it, despite meaning to get around to it for several years. It’s a straightforward dram, plenty of interesting notes, and not as sweet as I’d assumed.

Verdict:

I like this.

Tomatin 18yo 1976/1995

Tomatin 18yo 1976/1995

First Cask, The Malt Whisky Circle
Single malt - Speyside 
Pale amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, honey, cucumber, blackcurrant cordial, marmalade, hints of leather. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, cool, tingly, expands. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Marmalade, damson jam, barley sugar, cocoa nibs, leather, blackcurrant cordial. 
Finish: Medium. Blackcurrant cordial, marmalade, lemon zest, leather, hints of barley sugar. 

Comments: 

Cask 27643. Quite sweet and sherried, with a nice frisson of leathery old bottle effect. It’s got off notes of cough syrup, perhaps, slightly bitter on the after taste. Nevertheless quite interesting and tasty whisky. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Tomatin 18yo 1976/1995

Tomatin 18yo 1976/1995

First Cask, The Malt Whisky Circle 
Single malt - Speyside 

Amber gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Papayas, honey, peaches, stewed raspberries, lilies, elderflower, blueberries, hints of leather. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Peaches, cranberries, cherries, cream, elderflower, honey, vanilla, stewed raspberries. 
Finish: Long. Cherries, black tea, vanilla, cranberries. 

Comments: 

Cask 27637. A luscious, fruity and floral whisky, tempered slightly by a hint of peat and a fair bit of old bottle effect (especially on the nose). Once on the tongue it’s like eating alcoholic raspberry ice with a side of cherry cough mixture in the finish. It’s lovely. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Tomatin 12yo 2006/2019 Amontillado Cask

Tomatin 12yo 2006/2019 Amontillado Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, peanuts, chocolate, tobacco leaf, sage, hints of red grapes. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, watery, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Coffee, chocolate, fresh baked bread, raisins, peanuts, sage, hints of cloves. 
Finish: Medium. Sage, chocolate, honey, tobacco leaf, coffee. 

Comments: 

Interesting Tomatin. There is sherried sweetness, of course, along with the obligatory grape and chocolate notes, but there is also something herbal and bitter here. I interpret this as sage and coffee. It's quite fragrant and enjoyable whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Tomatin 11yo

Tomatin 11yo

Artful Dodger Whisky Collective, Woolf Sung
Single malt - Speyside
Bright gold
56.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange juice, peanuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, acacia honey, hints of white grapes. With water, condensed milk, sour cream, tobacco leaf, hints of leather. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, warm, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Ink, pear drops, peanuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, acacia honey, hints of tobacco leaf. With water, more sour, sour cream, leather, vanilla. 
Finish: Medium. Tobacco leaf, black tea, iron filings, lemon juice. 

Comments: 

Cask 453. I'm very impressed with the Artful Dodger releases. All the ones I've tried have been intense, full of flavour, and it's not hard to see why - the whiskies are cloudy, full of fat and flavour compounds, especially if you add water. This one is no exception - it's citrusy and sweet, until you add water, then it turns leathery, even sour.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Tomatin 18yo

Tomatin 18yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Fresh baked bread, raisins, marzipan, candied oranges, toffee. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, cool, slightly watery around the edges. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Burnt sugar, black tea, raisins, cloves, candied oranges, fresh baked bread. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, burnt sugar, vanilla, boiled eggs. 

Comments: 

This is brilliant stuff, like drinking sticky toffee pudding, with orange syrup, and an odd side of boiled egg. Aged Tomatin appears to be remarkable stuff, and like with so many other whiskies, 18 years seems to be some sort of magic number.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Tomatin 36yo

Tomatin 36yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Golden
46% ABV
Tiny taste

Nose: Papaya, dried mango, orange peel, apple juice, hints of sandalwood 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, static, turns watery, loose. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Dried mango, toffee apples, orange peel, vanilla, orange blossom, jasmine. 
Finish: Long. Lime juice, dried mango, vanilla, orange blossom, jasmine. 

Comments: 

Incredibly floral, intensely fruity, sweet whisky. The flavours blend so well into each other, in a way that only comes with great age. I was very lucky to taste this, and even luckier to get a second taste after I spilt my first one. Thanks very much to Eddie for both tastes.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Tomatin 16yo 2001/2018

Tomatin 16yo 2001/2018

Connoisseur's Choice, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Speyside
Amber
56.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, bananas, pears, white chocolate, hints of peaches. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, tingly, astringent, sticky. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Pears, white grapes, dried mangoes, white chocolate, honey, hints of jasmine tea. 
Finish: Medium. Dried mangoes, lemon zest, honey, hints of pears. 

Comments: 

Delicious cask strength whisky, loaded with fruit, chocolate and floral notes. I love this sort of whisky. Unfortunately, this specimen does not take water well, and turns a little flat when it opens up.

Verdict:

I like this.

Tomatin Legacy

Tomatin Legacy

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Brass
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, sour cream, orange peel, leather, hints of wet leaves, hints of tobacco leaf. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, oily, astringent. 
Tasting: Sour. Sour cream, raisins, orange peel, walnuts, lemon zest, hints of sea salt. 
Finish: Medium. Orange peel, green apples, sour cream, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

Aged in virgin oak and bourbon barrels (!). Is this whisky or bourbon? Who cares? It's tart and grapey, but not overly sweet. There's a milky, creamy note, which would be great if there were say a chocolatey bite, but instead it's accompanied by orange peel and other citrus. Decent dram, not a particularly great one.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Tomatin 19 yo 1988/2007

Tomatin 19 yo 1988/2007

Connoisseur's Choice, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Speyside
Pale orange gold
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Strawberries, vanilla, honey, orange juice, grape jelly, hints of peat.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, smooth, mouth coating.
Tasting: Sour. Strawberries, honey, orange juice, grape jelly, cream, orange blossom, hints of leather, hints of peat.
Finish: Short. Orange juice, vanilla, honey.

Comments:

Floral and fruity, with an interesting flavour element of fake grape flavour - the stuff used to flavour grape sweets. Unexpectedly tart on the tongue too, despite the strong overtones of honey and strawberries.

Verdict:

I like this.

Tomatin 12 yo

Tomatin 12 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Golden
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemons, bananas, flint, wheat, leather, dried cherries.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, warms, slippery.
Tasting: Sour. Lemons, bananas, flint, leather, dried cherries, hints of plums, hints of fermented fruit.
Finish: Medium. Wheat, flint, lemons, bananas.

Comments:

Sour, yet fruity. There's a strong estery whiff of bananas, followed by a sweetish sickly scent of fermented fruit, maybe plums. It smells like what you make before you distil it into eau-de-vie. And it tastes like it too. Strange, but not unpleasant, such whiskies rarely are.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 11.30 (Tomatin 17 yo 1990/2008)

SMWS 11.30 (Tomatin 17 yo 1990/2008)

2008, SMWS
Single malt - Speyside
Pale gold
58.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Plums, lemons, chocolate, molasses, black pepper, hints of orange peel.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, syrupy, hot .
Tasting: Sweet sour. Lemons, blue cheese, plums, raisins, chocolate, molasses, hints of orange peel.
Finish: Long. Blue cheese, potato chips, molasses, plums.

Comments:

Very drinkable despite the high strength. No water required here, just enjoy the burn. Sweet fruit, a strong coating of molasses, with a little savoury bite of Stilton in the finish. Unusual, and delicious. Something to have instead of dinner.

Verdict:

I like this.