Review by: The Muskox

My next several reviews are all from a lovely tasting I attended last night – every whisky we tried was distilled before I was born! Up first (or, at least, the whisky I finished writing my notes for first) is this official bottling of Tomatin.

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Distillery: Tomatin.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 46%.

Age: 25 Years. Distilled in 1988. Bottled in 2014.

Cask type: Matured in a mix of bourbon barrels and port pipes.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Fruity, but mature and fragrant. Very rich beeswax is the leading note. Musty overripe fruit flavours of brown bananas, pineapple, mango, and squishy citrus. There’d a darker and jammier side to the fruit as well – blackberry and rhubarb preserves. Chocolate chip cookie dough and some pralines. Sweetly earthy, butter-glazed carrots? A bit of a dark old-paper flavour. Slight cedar smoke.

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives quietly with beeswax, cocoa powder, and juicy orange. Develops slowly and gently into rich old oak, fresh herbs, some bitter walnuts, and earth. More of those buttery carrots and some gooey brownies.

5 drops of water bring out a lighter floral character and some more zesty citrus on top of the richer notes.

Finish: Medium-long, oaky but sweet and rich. Thick caramel, maple syrup, mixed citrus peels, and some more beeswax. Those darker fruit notes are in control here, rather than the tropical fruit – blood orange and mixed berry jams. A lingering minty note.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Falling asleep at the overnight jam session”

Conclusion:  It’s got flavour, but it’s missing some complexity. The age really comes through and the port casks play a nice supplementary role. While the oak is intense, to me it’s not too overbearing (others at the tasting had a different opinion). I wonder if higher proof would even have made much of a difference here?

Final Score: 82.

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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.