I’ve probably said it a thousand times before… it does seem true that whisky from the isles, at its worst; is good. The team at Tobermory on Mull seem to have figured out how to make consistently good drams. Understandable then that I am excited about this limited edition release from 2007 finished in Port pipes. N: Powerful, pungent, and rich. There is a lot to unpack here. I’ll do my best: the malt is oily and ‘golden’ (is golden a smell?), no sign of grist or dryness. Something industrial like old oily steel works, there is a slight hydrocarbon and metal here that adds weight (sounds awful, its not). Behind this initial front is elements of the port, fresh orange, chocolate, maybe leather and espresso. Despite an overlay of seemingly jarring ‘off notes’, this is well balanced and very well integrated. I might well be imagining it, but I could swear I picked up on Turkish delight and incense like spice. P: Oh that takes you by surprise. This is the equivalent of a fantastical sword movement that you see before you realise you’ve run through. The initial approach is gentle, soft, and almost creamy, slightly caramel malt, warm barley. Then things come alive in a storm of prickly ginger, tannic oak, espresso bitterness. Successive sips take you through the depths of juicy and quite bright and ever so slightly sour fruits: citrus, strawberry, black forrest fruits. F: Long. There is a surprising amount of delicacy to the tannic and peppery spice that compliments a creamy chocolatey-berry medley with the deftest saltiness. I have never been to Turkey or Morocco, but I am somewhat reminded of travel documentaries that visit the rich and diverse spice markets and bazaars. There is a wonderful blend of raw industrial weightiness, bright summeriness, and vibrant spiciness to transport my mind to these places. This is beautiful stuff, deeply interesting and remarkably fun.. so much so that I didn’t notice the almost 60%ABV or stop to add a dash of water. Distiller whisky taste #284 [Pictured here with a piece of the resplendent Tiree Marble. I’ve shared this rock before as the closest thing to the Isle of Mull I have (Tiree is just next door). Beautiful pink dolomite and granular green diopside pyroxenes with origins dating back two and a half billion years. This yummy rock seems the perfect pairing for this yummy malt]. Tobermory Running Scores Tobermory 12: 4/5 Tobermory 12 2007 Port Pipe: 4.5/5 Ledaig 10: 3.75/5 Ledaig 12 2008 G&M Hermitage Cask: 3.75/5 Ledaig 18: 4.5/5