Tamdhu 12 Year

Nice and pleasant sherry cask aged single malt - not to complex and with a juvenile burn. Delivers exactly what you expect from a sherry cask matured dram - nothing surprising or unexpected. But it gets quiet a bid better the longer you enjoy a glass.

Gentle on the nose with reminders of the sea and a mild coastal breeze and grains, good body and rounded taste but lacks complexity and the finish is a let down going completely dark too soon. Curious to see if higher age brings more personality

Subtle notes of honey up front. Flavor profile similar to Dalmore Portwood Reserve, but much less body. A good dram, but not at the top of my list.

Buttery mouth-feel to start, baked goods

Friday night, time for my once a week pour. This time, it’s a a dram graciously sent by my buddy and Tamdhu’s #1 fanboy, @Generously_Paul . I think this is what the younger modern Macallans strive to be, but unfortunately they’re lost nowadays with overpriced NAS offerings, more worried about their Pantone labels rather than the liquid inside. Tamdhu replaced the 10yr old with this 12. You don’t see that often...when was the last time a distillery replaced a younger age version with an older? And it’s at 43% vs the previous 40%. And...matured in first fill and refill oloroso sherry cask. Seems great on paper, everything in the right direction. Orange peels and dried fruit aromas, followed then by sultanas and baked apple taste. It’s a good decent entry level malt. I’d get this any day over similar age statement as a Glenfarclas, Balvenie, and Macallan. Now, within the same family, I’d choose the Tamdhu batch strength series. Those provide a layer of complexity and taste above this one. Overall, a solid entry whisky, that is a suitable replacement to the Macallan 12, at a lower price point. Thanks Paul!

So I decided to open an official Tamdhu distillery bottle, and a Tamdhu from an independent bottler to see how the two stacked up. Would they be completely different or share much of the same characteristics? This 12 year old single malt was matured in 100% Oloroso sherry casks, as all modern Tamdhu are, is bottled at 43% ABV, is natural color of golden amber and is chill filtered. Strong and sweet raisins on the nose with lots of berries: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cranberries. Lovely sherry, plums, tangerines, apricots and oranges and peaches. A mixed berry pie with honey and nutmeg on the top. Vanilla cream, custard, cereal malt and Grape-Nuts cereal. Green apples, Concord grapes and orange marmalade. Brown sugar and rich caramel. A touch of lemon oil and leather, with more vanilla and a bit of damp/musty earth aromatic note. The palate is malt forward with honey and oak. Sherry but not what I’d call a sherry bomb. Less sweet than the nose, a bit tannic even. A mix of berries, but cranberry seems to stand out the most. Grapes, apples, tangerines, orange citrus/peel. Confectionary, walnut brownies (first time I’ve ever had brownies in a whisky), just the right amount of wood spice; ginger and nutmeg, pie crust. Leans more towards the malty the malty/wood spice side than fruity. A medium to light bodied mouthfeel that is creamy and dry. The finish is medium length with oak, light sherry, malty and dry. A very sugary sweet nose that shifts gears on the palate to malt heavy wood spice all while being fruity throughout. I enjoyed this Tamdhu, though it was a bit of a challenge at times. More of a sherry presence would really have made this whisky shine. Still, I would come back to this one any time. A solid 4. Next up is the 13 year old. Cheers