Tamdhu 10 Year

I had a sherry blind tasting with 8 different sherried whiskies. Tamdhu 10 finished last. It was not a close last. There were 7 decadent, rich sherried whiskies oozing dark fruits, dark chocolate, butterscotch, and crème brulee. And 1 beer. This was the beer. The nose is dominated by the spirit. Young malt and organic solvent. Light fruits and nutty popcorn, almonds, and sherry, but not enough sherry. A nutty, malty, citrusy arrival that only later becomes dark fruits. Orange peels, white pepper, and a light smoke towards the finish. The finish is the only redeeming part. The nose and palate expose that the Tamdhu new make is nowhere near the Macallan caliber they are trying to emulate, and this product is too young, and needs more barrel influence to smooth out its flaws. I bet the batch strength Tamdhu, which is officially NAS, is 11-12 years. I really enjoyed batch #1, and not as much batch #2. Now that I’ve tried Tamdhu 10, I am noticing some bad characteristics in the batch #1 hidden by the stronger ABV and, I think, more time in the barrel. So, not only is this bottle not worth the premium price they are charging for a 10 year old, it made another bottle (batch 1) not worth it by bringing attention to Tamdhu’s flaws. I’m definitely done playing with this distillery. Macallan from the future it is not. PRESUMPTIVE MARK: 77/100 In case you’re interested, here’s how the 8 whiskies ended up being ranked: 1. Aberlour A’bunadh B34 NAS 59.5% 2. Arran Single Cask Sherry OB D1997/B2013 Spring Release 52.8% 3. Glendronach 12 year B2016 (1L travel retail) 43% 4. Tamdhu Batch Strength #1 NAS B2015 58.8% 5. Famous Grouse 18 year 43% 6. Macallan Edition No. 1 NAS 48.1% 7. Tomatin 18 year B2017 46% 8. Tamdhu 10 year B2017 43%

This is a purchase I made solely because it was discontinued. I’ve never had the new year-old, so I can’t say how compare this old flagship bottling their old one. Instead, I’ll review this one on its own merits. Nose: Gala apple, pear, and apricot with some light honeydew. Orange citrus and cocoa. Red and green grape with some toffee, vanilla, butterscotch, date, fig, and raisin. Car seat leather. Almond, cinnamon, and oak. Standard sherry cask pleasantness. Palate: More of the gala apple, pear, apricot, and honeydew. Caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, and toffee. Almond and milk chocolate. Orange and milk chocolate. Cherry, grape, date, fig, and plum. Velvety mouthfeel. Nice palate. Finish: Pear, gala apple, and apricot. Nice orange citrus. Milk chocolate and cocoa. Almond, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Short-medium length. Well, I’m glad I grabbed this. I’m 2/2 with Tamdhu. Batch Strength 004 clearly beats this, but that’s not much of a detractor. This is a damn good malt in its own right. 3.75/5. It was well worth a try. I will be interested to see how the 12 year serves as a permanent replacement. Until then, well done Tamdhu.

Full on sherry bomb this has been on my hit list for a bit. On sale for $53 and I need a sherried scotch to replace the wonderful Balvenie 15 I just finished off. This stuff is a similar profile to good ole Mac 12 with less body and mouthfeel. Nose is candied fruits, some good malt notes and splintered wood. You have to dig a little as its a little reserved. Palate reminds me of those sugared orange slices jelly candy surrounded by rich malt ,vanilla coconut milk, baking spices and toasted barrel. Its quite tasty and repeated sips elevate the flavors. Finish is a tad short with the fruity spiced malt fading fast and the wood drying just so ever slightly bitter. It delivers what you'd expect from a quality sherried scotch. It cannot keep up with GD or Mac but in line with many other competitors. Im willing to bet the vaunted batch strength or the 15 yr are fantastic. Overall glad I purchased and will continue with this distillery......86/100

A complex, Single Malt Scotch Whisky by the Tamdhu Distillery in Speyside, Scotland made using a mere wisp of peat smoke to prepare their barley; before it is aged for a decade in the best combination of first fill & refill Sherry casks. It has an earthy birth with notes of forest floor, dried orange peel, red wine, pecan, raspberry jam, hints of vanilla & cinnamon; while a complex life adds notes of butter, caramel, crystallized ginger, apple, pear, brown sugar & berries; that led to a spicy death of medium length with notes of black currant, smoke, sherry, pepper & chocolate. February 2020 / September 2022

I remember this one being a bit polarizing in past reviews. Some for some against. I think it actually might be a bonafide case of distillery batch variation as I had the same thing happen to me with the Tamadhu cask strength. People raved and I got nothing out of it. This time it's different I really enjoyed this. Now it's not as complex as the Macallan whiskey makers edition. But it does what it has well and has none of the MWME bitterness on the aftertaste. Currants, toffee and more..nice dram. 4

Had it at a tasting with brand ambassador Gordon Dundas. Yellow gold colour. Delicate whisky with medicine notes, citrus fruits and medicinal herbs. Lingering warming finish. Very good stuff. Upd. Had another bottle and completely different impressions. N: 21, P: 22, F: 22, B: 21. The nose is sweet with vanilla, mimosa and dried apricot. The taste is rich, sweetish and lucid: fruit, citrus and candied peel.