Tomintoul 16 Year

White fruit, apricots, vanilla, light and sweet with honey, tea and faint wisps of lemon citrus. A rather pleasant nose. As the dram opens, caramel becomes the dominate note. On arrival, the same theme of the nose materializes on the palate. The medium bodied spirit quickly loses the caramel sweetness and reveals orange rind and spice, leaving a slight bitterness on the tongue and a hint of spice and oak. Sweet and fruity on arrival; slightly bitter, spicy and oaky on the finish. The addition of water (a small amount, since it is a low ABV) diminishes the bitterness and reduces the fullness of the body. Overall, a nice 'Gentle Dram' presented in a standard Speyside profile manner. This is a perfect spirit as an introductory Scotch Whisky that is extremely cost-effective (at least near me). [$48][85/100]. [Opened: 4/11/15; Revisited: 2/12/16].

My review four years ago was as follows: ‘This 'gentle dram' is pretty anodyne.’ I gave it two stars. After having tasted many more whiskies since, and at a credible friend’s recommendation, I gave this one another shot. Turns out, it’s a pretty impressive value for its age and has notable nuance that either was lacking from the earlier batching or was simply too subtle for me at the time.