Tomatin Cask Strength

Stop number 56 on the SDT is Tomatin. Tomatin is a Highland distillery known for producing good single malts at a spectacular price. This 12 year old is a cask strength, single cask hand picked by the liquor super store Ace Spirits in Minnesota. Cask number 1833, bottle number 24 of 210. Distilled in 2002, bottled in 2014. 53.1% ABV and being cask strength I would venture a guess that it is non chill filtered and natural color. This is a light golden straw. I’ve tried 3 Tomatin 12 year olds before, the older sherry finished version, the newer “Bourbon and Sherry Cask” version, and the limited French Oak version. Let’s see how this one compares. Heavy floral notes dominate the nose, so much so that I immediately likened it to a barrel aged gin. Light oak, pine and a lemony citrus. Seriously gin-like. Vanilla custard, very light butterscotch and toffee. A candy like sweetness emerges, but its weak and covered in flower petals. After a good long while in the glass some sherry notes appear in the form of a maple syrup like sweetness. A tad nutty with some pears and cinnamon. Decided to add water to see if the higher ABV was masking everything I remember from the standard 12. Water adds more sherry oak and fruit and some honey comes in, but it does nothing to tame the heavy floral notes. Like the nose, the palate has a huge floral hit up front. Again, very gin-like. Peppery sherried oak and a lemon/pine citrus. Cinnamon, pears and little bitterness. Water drowns out everything but the floral and pine notes, making it feel even more like a gin. Medium to full bodied mouthfeel. A light oiliness, mouth coating and mouthwatering. The finish is quite short, floral, a touch bitter and dry. This is so very different than the other 12 year olds I’ve had from Tomatin. It’s also a disappointment as far as cask strength scotches go. Hard to rate this one as it doesn’t really feel like a scotch. More like a scotch-gin hybrid. Well priced for a single cask, cask strength though at only $43, which is only $10 more than their standard 12 version, but it’s just not what I’m looking for in a scotch. A solid 3. Thanks for the sample Lee, it was a unique experience for sure. Cheers

Jerusalem 2017 - malty nose, strong sherry oloroso flavors

Ah, Tomatin. This distillery has quietly crept up my list of favorites based on some serious, high quality drams that won’t break the bank. You can find some tasty drams ranging from the NAS Cu Bocan to the 12 year French Oak to the 14 Year Port Finished to the 18 year sherry cask. Most of these bottles also run in the $45-60 range. I believe the 18 can be had for less than $80. There’s serious value there. This bottling is the single cask, cask strength version of the sherry-finished 12 year old. This particular one was selected by the fine fellows over at Ace Spirits in Minnesota. This is cask number 1833 and is bottle #24 of a scant 210 total. I bought this for the meager sum of $43 online. It’s 53.1% ABV, distilled in 2002 and bottled in 2014. It’s a very pale yellow in the Glencairn and remains clingy and oily even when you get sort of violent with it. The nose is fresh cut oak, vanilla beans with some faint sherry notes that struggle to get past the heat from the high ABV. The palate reminded me of fresh cut, yellow pine from when I worked in a local lumber yard while in my teens. The sawdust always found it’s way home with me and that smell haunts me from time to time, especially when I drink American bourbon. It’s here in spades, as well. There’s a nice wash of sherry sweetness on the tail end and into the finish which save this from being a total power play of oak and heat. The finish is somewhat long, oaky and hot without being too harsh. It’s not complex, but I think it’s pretty enjoyable and better than the regular 12 year old. I hope the other guys in the distillery tour group find this one enjoyable, as my last few contributions have been mostly busts. I enjoyed it and recommend it, especially for the bourbon fans out there. It’s a solid bridge builder in the world of single malt scotches. 3.5-3.75 stars, with a bit of a boost for the price point. Cheers.

€53,00

Sterke jongen, brand aardig in je mond. Veel geur, vooral zurig/sherry, niet echt mijn favo.