Review by: The Muskox

This dram was part of the second leg of one of my whisky club’s blind tasting events. I cohosted this round, so I was too busy being witty and informative to make proper blind guesses during the tasting. So I’ve come back knowing what all these whiskies are to write normal (“sighted”?) reviews.

This is a Tomintoul! And a rare Tomintoul at that – it’s not common to see “The Gentle Dram” bottled at cask strength.

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Distillery: Tomintoul

Bottler: Official bottling

Region: Speyside

ABV: 57.4%. Cask Strength.

Age: 25 Years. Distilled October 24th 2023. Bottled in January 2020.

Cask type: Cask #333346, sherry butt.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Light amber. Natural Color. Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: Lots of rich sherry, but not too sweet. Clove-studded orange, dried raspberries, aged balsamic. Jaffa Cakes, buttered panettone, milk chocolate, and rich toffee. Slightly leathery, with some robust oak and dunnage lying beneath. Cinnamon and allspice.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives with tart fruit (raspberry, apple jam, prunes, blood orange), then evens out with rich chocolate, shea butter, and toasted almonds, as well as some spicy candied ginger. Mellow old oak comes up from underneath, as well as undercurrents of leather, black pepper, dry earth, and some thyme.

Finish: Medium-long and rich. Butterscotch, oiled leather, chocolate ganache, and root beer give way to lingering orange oil and more panettone.

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Conclusion: Blind, I guessed that this was a mid-nineties GlenDronach single cask in Oloroso. I was sort of close, even on the vintage! This is quite a good whisky – lots of rich sherry but with enough chocolatey and earthy depth to back up the sweetness. Definitely the best Tomintoul I’ve ever had.

Final Score: 86.

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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.