Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 004

Nose - (w/o water) Strawberries, caramel, roasted nuts, berries & cream cream savers hard candies (w/ water) Much less sweet, less fruity, shortbread cookies, flamed orange zest Taste - (w/o water) Hot sweet fruity spice/heat, red berries, rich brown simple syrup, orange zest, raisins (w/ water) Still hot but not as much tingle, orange zest with pith bitterness, raisins, cocoa nib Finish - (w/o water) Orange zest, light bitter pith lingers, lingering heat/tingle, sharp berry/raisin sweet (w/ water) Lightly more bitter orange zest with pith, lingering heat, raisins, brown sugar Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This one seems to be greatly affected on the nose with the addition of water. It seems to have made it a bit less fruity, but it also brought out this nice shortbread cookie & orange zest vibe I quite liked. This was quite hot all around at the proof it had though. Intense red berries without and sadly this sort of suffered from this orange pith bitterness that didn't go away with water even. Nice hints of raisins throughout though as expected with a sherried Scotch, but the orange pith bitterness was a bit distracting. This was still tasty, but it was a bit hot & the bitterness that wouldn't go away was a bit distracting. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Not another of this batch NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Bright fruity nose. Delightful. Palate: tropical fruits with sherry. Juicy to the tongue. Yums Finish: medium

I often see Tamdhu described as the unsung hero of sherried scotch. So I figured I'd give the distillery a go, starting with the Batch Strength. I'm a cask strength enthusiast, so I figured I start with the uncut product. Let's see what Tamdhu is all about. Nose: As I wrote the first paragraph, I could already smell this one leaping out of the glass. It's a fruit bowl of assorted variety. Apple, pear, apricot, pineapple, orange, lemon, lime, plum, kiwi. Vanilla, butterscotch, toasted almond, marshmallow, toffee. Raisin, date, and fig signify sherry aging. Milk chocolate and frosting. A little nutmeg and some solid oak. Very sweet and a little tangy. No hint of alcohol. Amazing start. Palate: Dark red notes. Plum, raisin, date, fig, prune, raspberry, and cranberry. Strawberry as well. Dark, sweet. Syrupy and jammy. Maple and molasses. Walnut, almond, and chestnut. Caramel, vanilla, toffee, and butterscotch. Some cola. Some pear, apricot, apple in there as well. Some oak spice, along with cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Solid. Finish: Beast of a finish. Long, as you'd expect at 57.8% ABV. There's a hit of dry red fruit and nutty notes. Think trail mix. And then a spice bomb. Heaps of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Some orange peel adds a touch of citrus. Great finish. I paid $70 for this, and I have to say it's an amazing value. It's the cheapest cask strength Scotch I've ever purchased, and it can go toe-to-toe with any of them (not named Lag 12, Ugi, or Corry). Slightly preferred to Aberlour Abunadh, which is a great comparison considering both are CS Scotch. What else can I say? Highly recommended. Not sure if you can still find this, as I grabbed mine before the turn of the year. It's solid throughout, but boasts one of the best noses I've ever gotten from a Speysider. I'm officially on the Tamdhu train.