Review by: dustbunna
As always, I try to reflect some of the temporal element of my enjoying and appreciating a bottle of Scotch, and how the whisky (and my experience) changes over time. I was so happy to receive this as a gift— in my area in the US, Tobermory is impossible to find and even Ledaig is fairly rare on the shelf. This was a hand-filled 20cl distillery exclusive bottling, gifted to me by a friend who paid a visit to Tobermory earlier this year.
Distillery: Tobermory.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Islands (Mull).
ABV: 62%. Cask strength.
Age: 10 years. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2019.
Cask type: Bordeaux cask.
Price: N/A, gifted to me.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
200mL bottle open across approx. 2 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: Beneath a veil of ethanol there’s vanilla, some deep red fruits, roasted coffee beans, and mixed berry jam, green wood, a little bit of cocoa, a charred note, like a partially burned campfire the day after.
Palate: Oily mouthfeel, heavy oak wood, some astringency, red wine (see below), a little cherry in the background, a touch of raisins and/or dates
Finish: Medium-long ~ leathery, ripe orange, a lot more wood spice, lingering heat
Conclusion: Except for the red fruits, a lot of this reminds me of ex-bourbon casks. Strangely enough, a piece of good dark chocolate squared my palate precisely to taste the Bordeaux influence at its strongest, and every other time I sipped, it eluded me. Water didn’t bring out anything especially different for me, but I found this easier to drink neat as the bottle went down (it definitely made its strength known throughout, though.) Overall, I really would have preferred more fruit, or at least more present fruit, to balance the persistent oakiness, especially in the lingering but not complex finish.
Final Score: 75.
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.
Malt Runners 