Tomintoul 10 Year

I taste and smell honey. Maybe even fruity. Burns at first but significantly calms down as you drink it. Enjoyable.

Fruity initial taste then peaty and finishing with spicy

Nose: Lemongrass, chamomile tea, some honey and touch of fresh briny breeze. As it rests and opens in the glass the clean, light aromas are joined by a warmer caramelised barley presence and a hint of baked banana. It's not a particularly complex nose, but it is crisp and refreshing. [The dry-glass aroma is the scent of meadow-flowers in spring]. Palate: Sweet and gentle cereal with flowery honey notes - leatherwood honey in particular - and a very slight hint of vanilla. Golden malt and sweet red apple in the development, plus some sweet-hay barnyard aromas. The texture is light but not watery. Don't add any water - it is a fragile malt and can't take dilution. Finish: Medium/short. Crisp and nutty with a semi-sweet grassy aftertaste and a distant echo of licorice. The nose is demure and takes a good 10-15 minutes to wake up, and even when it does it remains a subtle and elegant pleasure. Don't come to this whisky expecting to be bombarded with forceful aromas, that's not at all what it is about. This is a gentle, laid-back whisky to enjoy neat with friends on a warm day. The palate is soothing and primarily cereal/grassy in nature, but it's not herbal. The top-notes are instead floral and sweet, like a fine honey the bees have crafted from meadow flowers or eucalyptus blossoms. It has a limited range but again that is intentional - just don't expect this to have intensity. As for the finish, I disagree with the official tasting note that the finish is simply drying. It's demi-sec and strongly reminiscent of a young and slightly oaked white wine. The soothing and gentle quality of this whisky can't be overstated. It's a combination of sweet herbal, honeyed and floral elements that works very well. I enjoyed it more than I had anticipated and it is good value for money. I'd certainly add it to the list of recommended first single malts for the novice. Hmm, maybe I should make just such a list here on Distiller. Tasted from a 30ml sample. "Average" : 78/100 (2.75 stars)