Tobermory 15 Year

Review by: dustbunna

Tobermory first released this 15-year-old in 2008, finished for 12 months in Oloroso casks sourced from the Gonzalez Byass bodega, and aged on-site in their tiny warehouse instead of being trucked down to Deanston (where they store the majority of their casks.) This bottle was on my radar because a year or so before I bought it, I had heard it mentioned in an interview with Ian MacMillan, the former master blender at Burn Stewart. MacMillan was the person who made the decision to stop chill-filtering at Deanston, Bunnahabhain and Tobermory, and to bottle everything at 46.3%. He said that of all the (unpeated) Tobermory whiskies he bottled, this was his favorite and the one which he was most proud to have put together, and he hinted that it contained a fair number of casks older than 15 years in the vatting. (For the record, his favorite peated was the 42yr Ledaig Dùsgadh special release.)

I never expected to find this still on a shelf, but out of pure luck I stumbled across it in a shop in summer of 2021, and decided the price was worth it for a bit of a time capsule into the heyday of MacMillan’s work turning Tobermory’s reputation around for the better. I waited six months until the winter holidays to open it up, and then savored it thereafter mostly in special occasion pours (as well as pours when I wanted to feel occasionally special.)

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Distillery: Tobermory.

Bottler: Distillery bottling.

Region: Islands (Mull).

ABV: 46.3%

Age: 15 years. Bottled in 2008.

Cask type: Ex-bourbon finished 12 months in first-fill ex-Gonzalez Byass Oloroso.

Price: $160 USD.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 16 months, notes taken leisurely across that entire period. Bold-formatted notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point.

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Nose: chocolate, oyster sauce, sea air, driftwood, some low-tide coastal notes, something sour in the background, sun-dried tomatoes, red liquorice.

Palate: oily and thick ~ stewed red fruits (cherries, cranberries, strawberries), salt, tree bark, Angostura bitters, forest floor, wet rocks, sweetens a bit with time.

Finish: medium length ~  more red fruits and salt, earth, allspice, black pepper, oak.

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Conclusion: This was a fascinating tasting experience for me, quite richly sherried but also with a more unpredictable side. I don’t know what made the difference here: maybe because the whisky sat in glass as long as the youngest component spent in oak, or maybe Tobermory’s spirit from the early ‘90s (which admittedly I haven’t had many chances to try) was especially weird and characterful, or maybe it’s down to the on-site aging and the special finishing cask that they suggested made this worthy of a special release.

In any case, this was a really fun dram to contemplate each time I poured it. Reading these notes back it’s kind of all over the place, I wouldn’t think they would work together at all— but the cooked red fruits, chocolate, coastal notes, savory and herbal bits, and the earthy undertones all hang in a strange, delightful balance and complement one another here, nothing feels out of place. The finish isn’t the longest, but presents a bit more of the cask and rounds off the palate really nicely. This was probably one of the most engaging unpeated sherried whiskies I’ve tried so far, and I’m glad to have had some extended time with it— not a repeat buy since I’m not into auctions, but absolutely worth the time and expense.

Final Score: 91.

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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.