Ah, Tomatin. This distillery has quietly crept up my list of favorites based on some serious, high quality drams that won’t break the bank. You can find some tasty drams ranging from the NAS Cu Bocan to the 12 year French Oak to the 14 Year Port Finished to the 18 year sherry cask. Most of these bottles also run in the $45-60 range. I believe the 18 can be had for less than $80. There’s serious value there. This bottling is the single cask, cask strength version of the sherry-finished 12 year old. This particular one was selected by the fine fellows over at Ace Spirits in Minnesota. This is cask number 1833 and is bottle #24 of a scant 210 total. I bought this for the meager sum of $43 online. It’s 53.1% ABV, distilled in 2002 and bottled in 2014. It’s a very pale yellow in the Glencairn and remains clingy and oily even when you get sort of violent with it. The nose is fresh cut oak, vanilla beans with some faint sherry notes that struggle to get past the heat from the high ABV. The palate reminded me of fresh cut, yellow pine from when I worked in a local lumber yard while in my teens. The sawdust always found it’s way home with me and that smell haunts me from time to time, especially when I drink American bourbon. It’s here in spades, as well. There’s a nice wash of sherry sweetness on the tail end and into the finish which save this from being a total power play of oak and heat. The finish is somewhat long, oaky and hot without being too harsh. It’s not complex, but I think it’s pretty enjoyable and better than the regular 12 year old. I hope the other guys in the distillery tour group find this one enjoyable, as my last few contributions have been mostly busts. I enjoyed it and recommend it, especially for the bourbon fans out there. It’s a solid bridge builder in the world of single malt scotches. 3.5-3.75 stars, with a bit of a boost for the price point. Cheers.