One of the added perks to being a part of our distillery trading team is the addition of top shelf bonus samples. Decades from Tomatin is one of those top shelfers. A blend of stocks from 5 different decades worth of whisky maturing in the Tomatin warehouse. So there could be anything from 3 years old up to 59 years old at play here. Bottled at 46% ABV, non chill filtered and most likely natural color of amber gold. The nose starts off fairly mild with a light sherry sweetness, lemon and light oak. Orchard fruits make their way in. Apricots, tangerines and oranges. Vegetal with an earthy peat. Waxy and oily. The fruitiness transitions into the tropical realm, mangos mostly with a little papaya and pineapple. Lots of vanilla and a general nuttiness. This thing just keeps evolving in the glass. Cocoa powder, mocha and maple syrup. Buttery toffee, buttery cookies, a touch of ginger, licorice and nutmeg. The fruity profile come back around to apples and pears, cinnamon and a light cherry note. Some floral honey in there as well. Quite a bit of complexity, even though it takes a bit of patience to get the ball rolling. The palate starts a bit hot, but it’s worth it as a huge blast of intense tropical fruits wash over the tongue. Mango, papaya, pineapple and coconut. It’s like chewing on a mouthful of tropical fruit Starburst candy. Lemons, oranges and apricots with a little banana as well. Cocoa and vanilla and a very light oak. Light peat, but more of a vegetal/ earthy feel than smoke. A dessert dram at no mistake, but a very good one. Medium-full bodied mouthfeel, oily and mouth coating. A medium long finish with lots of tropical fruits. A little on the dry side. While this started off a bit lackluster, it more than made up for it with a strength of complexity and a huge bust of flavors on the palate. Feels like the bulk of this is under 15 years old, but there is plenty of mature whisky at play here. Not very well balanced as it leans heavily to the sweeter side, but sometimes that what you’re after. I will say that at $110 I think it’s worth the price, with the caveat that it should be reserved for when your sweet tooth is tingling. A big thanks to @Telex for the sample. 4.25, but could easily be a 4.5 if in the right mood. Cheers