I had a great time drinking my way through this cheap, NAS bottle from one of my favorite budget distilleries: Tomatin. This bottle has been rebranded for its release here in North America. Here it’s called “Dualchas”. I don’t know what that means or why it was necessary to rename it, but it is the exact same single malt they call Legacy everywhere else around the world. Shrugs. This stuff is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon casks and new, virgin oak casks and then blended together before bottling. I didn’t see any indication of possibles ages here, but based on flavor profile and how insanely smooth it is I’d guess it’s between 6-8 years old. The nose it typical Highland style: lightly dusted apples, vanilla and oak spices. All indicators of the casks in play here. The palate has plenty of wood notes (especially pine) and a little sugary lemon. It feels pretty smooth, if a little thick, on the tongue. There’s nothing harsh or offensive at all. It’s solid from start to finish. Speaking of finish, it’s short to medium in length, sweet before becoming a tad bit dry. Overall, this is the definition of a baseline whisky from Tomatin. It’s surely “crushable” to me, as I believe I worked through this entire bottle in about 2 weeks. I used this as a primer for my tasting sessions and even cleaned up with it after a night of heavier-than-usual sipping. It was easy to reach for this one. If you factor in that this bottle can be bought for less than $30 everywhere- that makes it a winner. If you don’t go in expecting big things I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I would take this bottle over every single bottom shelf blended whisky and feel like I hit the VFM lottery. 3 stars for the whisky with a half star bump for the value. 3.5 stars, my friends. Cheers.