Tomintoul 25 Year

Nose: Fruit Palate: blackcurrants and fruitcake. Front forward zing like placing your tongue on a battery. Bitter and weak Finish: surpringly bitter

The nose starts off strong of oak and barley sugar with straw and a distinct creaminess. A slight ripe fruitiness cones through, the use of used cooperage really shines here. The palate starts with a burst of sharp, black pepper, before transitioning into creamy oak, barley sugar and straw. Creamy notes round out the whisky but is delightfully intense, highlighting its age. The finish is medium with a lingering mild pepperiness, with creamy oak and straw backing it up in perfect balance. A wonderful whisky, perfectly highlighting what age can do for Scotch. Dangerously easy to sip on.

Floral fresh nose, mild palate, kind of cool tasting, menthol? Floral finish, really refreshing drink, nice. Different tasking, it is a bit creamy. Very cooling. Nice subtle spice at the finish Juicy - pear juice?

So smooth and complex. Lots of vanilla, as if they were ahead of the barrel trend three decades ago. Gentle genius.

The bottle for the review is the mini bottle that is bottled up at 40%, but the full bottle is bottled up at 43%. As I’m not about to spend $550 to $800 on a bottle without trying it first, I went for the sample that has been watered down 3%. I’m not sure who had the rationale to send out slightly watered down mini bottles to consumers considering a purchase of a full bottle, but I’m sure there was a business savvy person that came up with a shrinkflation model highlighting the ability to bottle more stock at 40% than 43%. Anyways, let’s crack this shrinkflation version of a full bottle open and find out how it tastes. The nose starts light and mellow with a bowl of frosted wheat breakfast cereal followed by fruits of golden raisins, persimmons and light grapefruit that transitions to light floral notes then to spices of black pepper, cloves and light oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a light floral caramel followed by candied pecans then fruits of golden raisins, honeydew and apricot that transition to a medium bitter spice mid-palate that slowly fades away to black pepper, ginger, cloves and ashy oak with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length and slightly drying with golden raisins, apple, plums, whole peppercorns, ginger and ashy oak. Ugh, this is a disappointment that starts with a light nose of citrus, whole wheat cereal and light spices that carries over to the palate with the addition of light toasted nut before gravitating toward a bitter and spicy flavor that fades but re-emerges on the finish. There is no way this is worthy of that $550+ cost and much better whisky can be had for under $100. Perhaps these are their bad barrels and they put the better 25 year old stock in the higher proof version full bottle, but I certainly am not going to spend the money to find out.

Big age statement, low expectations. With artificial colorant and measly 40% ABV, the presentation of this Tomintoul illustrates that old habits die hard. That said, the nose opens up beautifully, showcasing persimmon, chamomile and a dash of pepper. After a sweet soda pop arrival, the palate is hit by an avalanche of spices, overshadowing sour fruits, coconut and floral notes. The oak keeps the upper hand into the dry and tannin-rich finish, giving away the impact of mediocre casks. I have mixed feelings, this whisky appears to be a bit beyond its peak. RATING: 3.5/5.0 stars ≙ 83 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE

Much smokier than the 10 or 16. Much more wood. Creaminess of the 16 is gone, but it's much more complex. Still lots of vanilla, but this is a woodsy vanilla, not a baking sweet. Delicious. But not worth the money.