Tobermory 12 Year

The unpeated brother of Ledaig from the Isle of Mull. Ive been eying this for a while after really enjoying Ledaig 10 but for some reason this is way more expensive. I finally gave in at $75 so here we go. Nose is rich and creamy with custard, buttermilk, thick malt and seasoned barrel. There is some flinty apple skins and a farmy hay note. Palate is liquid gold. Heavy sweet barley malt with clarified butter, pink Himalayan salts, fields of heather and Caledonian timber. Just a hint of fruit and smoke. Finish is long fade salty and malty. The buttery weathered oak going to the very edge of tannic but stopping just short. This is a wonderful scotch with a specific profile(Malt Bomb) you will have to appreciate to fully enjoy. It has a purity and cleanness that just reek of quality. Reminds me of Cragganmore 12 in that regard. I find the sweetness of the malt in near perfect balance with the salty island character and barrel woods. Absolutely delicious imo.....94/100..... It is definitely overpriced for a 12 yr and I will definitely repurchase

Nose: Toffee, cornflakes, freshly sawn wood, vanilla, green apples, a suggestion of maritime aromas, some honey and flinty mineral notes. It’s a young cereal-focused profile that is dominated by young casks (but admittedly good ones). It's a bit tight when neat but adding water eases the nose and releases barley sugar, more honey and some light floral aromas while muting the mineral notes. The nose recomposes very well after dilution, gaining an oily quality. Palate: Spicy entry with hot ginger, hot cinnamon and chilli. The development is thin and sharp with bright gristy cereal, a touch of coconut and tart citrus flavours. There is a little salt and the texture is watery, almost like dilute seawater, but also oddly waxy. Adding water improves the palate enormously. The hot flavours are gentled, the cereal turns to sweet malt and the tart citrus turns to semi-sweet orange. The mouthfeel is very much improved, losing the thin quality and gaining a creamy depth. Finish: Short. Drying, mineralic, metallic (coppery) and slightly sour in the aftertaste. However, once again water works miracles, almost banishing the hard notes (by balancing them with sweetness) and adding length. A little of the familiar Tobermory milk chocolate is even detected on the aftertaste now. This bears some resemblance to the old 10 year expression but whereas that whisky succeeded by virtue of its delicate and slightly maritime character this is rougher, less attractive and does not bloom until diluted. As a neat dram the nose is pleasant, and the standout feature, but the palate has some odd qualities. However water transforms this whisky from an ugly ducking into a graceful swan. If you have only tasted it neat and previously dismissed it then I'd urge you go back and try it again with a generous dash of water. You will be surprised how much it is improved. I was about to rate this at 75 until I added water ... doing so takes it up to 82. Tasted from a 30ml sample that was taken from a 2019 bottling. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Rather boring and overpriced for what it offers. Won’t be buying another but kudos on the mostly craft presentation.

I’m greeted with a powerful yet delicate nose, like a pungent bouquet of honeysuckle and apple blossoms, but with an alcoholic kick. There’s unhulled barley, wildflower honey, and a feint minerality, almost a note of chalk but not so dry, more like Bird’s vanilla custard powder. Also, a hint of bourbon barrel spices and just a drop of lemony citrus. Spicy, sharp, and syrupy sweet on the tongue, it is the experience of the nose amplified. The heavy caramel sweetness fades quickly into soft vanilla, as the spice builds through the mid-palate approaching cayenne. The citrus too intensifies at this point, and evolves towards Valencia orange. The body lacks the girth expected but is by no means thin, not velvety but a tad creamy. The legs are so so, disorganized yet beautiful heavy teardrops form pretty skirts for a few moments before disappearing. The medium finish is dry, mineral, clean copper, oaky, somewhat bitter almond skins, and slightly saline. Whispers of spice and citrus hang on to the bitter end as well. The addition of water softens everything but the citrus sharpness, and makes the body creamier. Aroma: 9 Taste: 9 Body: 8 Finish: 8.5

High pep vanilla oak creamy raw chemical 1.25 Sweetness vanilla choco strong 2 Oaky woody 2 1.75