Tamdhu Ambar

Mediocre macallan 12 type shit. Nothing special.

Boa baunilha, álcool não agressivo. Dourado-âmbar. Estrutura leve, conjunto equilibrado.

Solid, smooth, not special.

A beautiful day comes to an end on this Sunday. Outdoor work, smoker completed its job on the ribs and chicken. Now just on cruise control and poured this sample provided by @PBMichiganWolverine Tamdhu is generally unfamiliar territory for me so let me get started. The color is a golden amber. A lightweight nose that carries fresh diced apples with orange peel with dashes of cinnamon. Apricots mixed with dry oatmeal with vanilla, honey and cocoa powder. The mouthfeel is on the thin side. What come through on the palate is faint but sweet and fruity. Raisins and apples with vanilla, caramel and brown sugar are forefront. There is a spicy side the comes off youthful which follows the sweeter side. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, black pepper. It finishes with oak spice, strawberry jam, plumbs, orange bitters that lasts a fair medium length. Nothing fancy here. A dram that is decent. It lacks a distinctive quality. It is nothing that you may find yourself yearning to coming back or would seek out. A social drinker and not a sophisticated sipper. [84/100][Tasted: 5/26/19]

Ah, Tamdhu. If Macallan is the Sak’s Fifth Avenue of sherried malts and Tomatin is the Walmart, then you’d be the JC Penney. What we have here is a new, travel retail exclusive called Ambar (which is Spanish for amber. Spanish because they used refilled, Spanish Oloroso sherry casks.). It also carries an age statement of 14 years, which is respectable. The ABV is dipped a bit, to 43% and I believe it is chill filtered. This bottle retails for over $80. Thanks to my NJ whisky connection- Mr @PBMichiganWolverine for this generous pour. The color is a beautiful, rich gold and it’s pretty oily. It leaves behind thin, watery legs and big drops after a spin in the Glencairn. The nose is relatively light and malty, with orchard fruit and toffee candies. Honey and vanilla mingle with hints of cocoa powder and vine-ripened raspberries. It’s just that everything is on the lighter side and waiting it out doesn’t do much at all. The power level has been dialed way down. The palate brings raisins and bitter chocolate out along with the fruits listed on the nose. It’s spicier and a bit more warming than I expected- especially for 43%. A zesty hint of citrus comes across the tongue late that really adds a bit of pep to the profile. The oily appearance isn’t felt on the tongue, though- it’s rather watery. The finish is light and thin with woody apples and a faint alcohol note rounding things out. It’s also pretty short. Overall, this strikes me as a beginner’s sherry whisky. Thin and weak are the key adjectives I take away from the total experience. It’s a typical, TRE mousetrap- lure you in with the Tamdhu name, the TRE exclusivity and slightly higher price tag, and drop the net on you once you get it home. Aka, it can be bested by lots of cheaper, sherried single malts and blends. I’ve had lots of good Tamdhu malts and this one doesn’t deliver the goods. Stick to first fill casks and higher ABV’s from them and you’ll be just fine- leave this one for the airport travelers and Tamdhu fanboys. 3 stars. Cheers.

Tamdhu...my beloved Speyside single malt distillery. I’ve been collecting Tamdhu for the last couple of years and have already accumulated a nice little cache of their stuff. Recently they released two travel retail exclusive expressions, the Gran Reserva and this 14 year old Ambar (Spanish for amber). I’m generally suspicious of anything released as TRE because I’ve had mixed results in the past...but this is Tamdhu! I have a bottle, but thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine who sent me a generous pour, I don’t have to open my bottle and can keep it stored away with the rest of my collection. Bottled at 43% ABV if it’s anything like the other Tamdhu out there it’s natural color, this one is amber (lives up to its name), but I suspect it is chill filtered. Contrary to the others out there that are, at a minimum, partially matured in first fill Oloroso sherry casks, this one is 100% refill casks. That alone makes me nervous, but let’s see how it performs in the glencairn shall we? The nose is light and delicate, not the sherry bomb I was hoping for. Those refill casks are a huge departure from the first fill casks I’m used to from Tamdhu. Dry grass, honey and malty biscuits. Lemon zest, light fruits like apricots, tangerines and baked apples. Very light sherry notes, raisins and very light oak. Whipped cream and maybe some strawberries to go with it. Lemon bars with graham cracker crust and a light dusting of cocoa powder. On a fresh pour the sherry notes are more readily detectable, more chocolate as well. The palate is just as light as the nose, but with a bit of an alcoholic nip. Slightly bitter and slightly sour. A touch of lemongrass. After a few sips the sherry becomes more prominent, but still pales in comparison to the other Tamdhus out there. Red and green grapes, raisins and an oak wood chip or two. Some baked apples, ginger, and clove. A light to medium bodied mouthfeel that is a bit thin and tongue coating. The finish is medium short with lemon, oak, sherry and apples. Well, I’m not in love here, but I’m not ready to sent it packing either. I think the key is to dive in as soon as you pour. Oxidation seems to be detrimental to the experience. It’s clear to me that Tamdhu needs first fill casks for at least a portion of its maturation. They add so much more in the way of flavor and complexity. This 100% refill maturation just doesn’t cut the mustard. I hope this is a limited run experiment and isn’t a precursor of things to come given the current demand for quality sherry casks. Not sure if I’m being too critical, or exactly as critical as I need to be. Either way I’m still happy to have had the chance to try this one and still have a bottle to keep. Cheers