Tomintoul 16 Year

Creamy, complex. What you want from the age and price point. Doesn't feel cheapened.

Nose is forward orange peel and dried apricots with vanilla. Spice note buried deep in the background like ginger nut biscuits maybe peat as well but way down in the noise floor if there at all. Taste is initially sweet and full. Almost buttery...with citrus notes and a hint of peat. Not a super long finish and the sweet rush quickly moves to a tart and spicy finish but very much controlled. No real sharp edges here. This is a largely a subdued and refined dram. I like it but its not outstanding in any particular way - minus the mouth feel. For the price its solid but I would find it hard to recommend. Having said that it is probably not a bad place to start if you are new to single malts - it won't spook the horses. Thanks to Cascode for the sample.

A gentle nose of vanilla, walnut, orange peel and a faint smokiness. A sweet citrus arrival, with a sherry cask impact that is restrained and balanced. The finish is not long, but there’s baking spices, brown sugar and dark fruit as it fades. This is a pretty and rounded dram that would benefit from a little more ABV to highlight what is clearly a quality production.

Atrocious. Kind of like balvenie mixed with some industrial fluid. And not complex. Apple mixed with acetone.

Smooth and almost creamy. Tons of vanilla. A gentle study in sweetness, but it lacks the long excellent finish of the 10 and 25.

Notes of maritime rocks and cherry on the nose. Toffee, spices and licorice dark chocolate on the palate. Medium finish.

Pretty mellow, easy drinking.

Great Spey