Tamdhu 8 Year (2005) Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection

Review by: TOModera

Thanks to LetThereBeR0ck for a sample of this one. I also stole his picture. Because I’m a horrible person. Go upload something he’s done lately, it’ll make me feel less like a heel.

Yeah, don’t buy this. It’s made forcibly by evil terrorists who liquefy cute, endangered animals and steal cancer cures.

Tamdhu is a whisky distillery located in the town of Knockando. That may sound similar to the other distillery there, but this is a different distillery where people give you the evil eye just for sneezing.

It’s an evil place.

As of April 2010, Superman and the forces of good shut down Tamdhu, and turned to stopping Signatory from stepping on baby ocelots. In 2013, it was reopened, as Cthulhu deemed it necessary to bring about the end of the universe.

So I’m doing you all a favour by reviewing this and telling you how bad it is.

Such a favour.

Distillery: Tamdhu Distillery.

Bottler: Signatory Vintage.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 60.6%. Cask strength.

Age: 8 years. Distilled January 27, 2005. Bottled August 22, 2013.

Cask type: 1st Fill Sherry Butt.

Price: N/A in Ontario, or anywhere else, don’t go looking for it or the NSA will hunt you down..

Color: Dried red roses… but, like…. evil ones…. that you’re afraid of… that remind you of that person who broke your heart as a child.

Nose: Roses, strawberry, lemon pudding, red pixie stick, light caramel, tannins, pear, raspberry

You can tell this is truly evil based on the amount of red fruits mixed with floral and tannic notes. Not to mention the balance of oak lending itself to a nice pear note.

Definitely evil. You wouldn’t enjoy this, run the other way.

Taste: Sprite, floral, raspberry, Monk’s Blend tea, chocolate covered cranberry, pineapple

Really, if I wasn’t as seasoned in reviewing as I was, this would blow my head clean off. Just because it’s really interesting, and has some complexity doesn’t mean you’ll love it so much that you’ll take extra time. I mean, that’s a downside, right? I had to take an extra hour to enjoy this sample.

That’s not good, you should avoid this, as it’ll help your alignment stay on the good side.

Finish: Caramel, sea salt, lime, currant, nutmeg, dry/sandy, ginger candy, orange rind

Dry finishes are like the desert, and the added dessert notes with nice earth/sweet/acidic notes would just end up making you confused and then ordering the Sahara when you meant a Crepe and then boom, you’re dying of thirst.

That’s a bad thing.

Conclusion: Nothing to see here, move along….

Alright, sarcasm aside. I’ll take a moment to say that I’m joking around to throw people off of this dram. It’s complex, it’s rich, and there’s a lot of complexity to it. It’s not quite hitting that “set of memories” point, but hell, is it close.

It’s a strong, young, first fill whisky aged to be a fighter. If that doesn’t sell you already, then just believe what I said and leave more of it for the rest of us.

Final Score: 85.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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