Tomintoul Peaty Tang

Stop number 36 on the SDT is Tomintoul. This Speyside distillery is located in the area around the river Livet, in the Glenlivet area to be specific. Not to say it is near the Glenlivet distillery, but in the Livet glen. I think I got that right, but I digress. Bottled at 40% ABV, and as such I think it's fair to say that it is chill filtered and has colorant added that makes it a yellow gold in color. Peaty Tang is a NAS expression. The nose is a lovely soft fruity peat. Not a strong peat at all, somewhere between HP and Lagavulin I would say. It's full of orchard fruits. Apricots, oranges and some lemon. Heather honey and maybe some vanilla. A minuscule amount of oak. A little bit of that ashy/tar note found in many a peated scotch, but it's more fruit than anything else. Plum and white grape juice follow. It's very light overall, but pleasant. A very gentle arrival on that palate. Lightly peated. Peat smoke, some ashes. Grilled apricots and maybe pineapple with a touch of coconut. It's sweet, but the sweetness is tempered by the peat. Again, very light but nice. Very light mouthfeel. A little oily but mostly thin. Mouthwatering. The finish is medium length that turns slightly dry with smoked fruits. What can I say? It's a incredibly light scotch. If it wasn't peated I don't think it would have much flavor at all, except some light fruits. It feels like an Ardbeg 10 that was watered down to 30% ABV or less. Probably a good way to introduce your friends to peated whisky without scaring them off. While there is nothing really wrong with this dram, there isn't anything to grab your attention either. I understand that this is the profile that Tomintoul was going for, but it's just not for me. Bump it up to 48% and nix the chill filtering and you might have something worth buying. As it stands I think $60 for this is too high. $40 would be more appropriate, especially for a NAS. Another distillery checked off the list. Thanks to Ryan for the sample. 3.25 Cheers

Down. X2

Charcoal lighter fluid sold as single malt scotch whisky, maybe I'll use it for that purpose. Did I get a bad bottle? Very few whiskies go into the undrinkable category, this one makes the hall of shame.

5.5 / 10. not bad for a tailgater!