Tamdhu 15 Year

Nose: Luscious sherried dark fruits, brown sugar, dark honey, old oak, orange liqueur, strawberry jam, baked apple tart with spices (cinnamon and allspice), fresh raisin scones. With time it gains a lighter, sweeter quality (milk chocolate, butterscotch and caramel) and the aromas integrate while some light peppermint and anise aromas waft in. Very, very satisfying. Palate: An excellent arrival – exquisitely poised between sweet, earthy, deeply fruity and oaky. Christmas cake and Christmas pudding galore in the development. Butterscotch, chocolate, caramel, toffee, cherry and almond liqueurs and just a suggestion of salmiak (wow!). Lots of oak in the background but the tannins are superbly soft and the texture is luscious, opulent, chewy and chocolaty. Finish: Long. Dark fruit and chocolate float out of sight on a wave of sherry. Some busy spices in the aftertaste and a dry finale. After the last whisky I tasted (the slightly disappointing Craggenmore 1999/2020 special edition) I though I’d turn to a trusty old campaigner, and Tamdhu did not let me down. The official Distiller tasting notes nail it and there’s not much more I can add. Tasted from a 30ml sampler [bottle ordered]. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Tamdhu 15 year - is it just batch 3 CS at non CS? Nose - Berries, earthy oaky wine funk, vanilla, a get a hint of spice (cinnamon perhaps or maybe something else), maybe some ginger, hints of dry milk chocolate. Taste - sherry bomb for sure, but there's a good bit of oak character here, almost too much. It gets sweeter as it opens up, more vanilla, a bit of toffee, chocolate, and still more oak. Finish - dry sherry, oak, and some chocolate. I did this one a while back side by side with the batch 3 and it was shocking how similar the sherry notes were. This is a bit thinner (not cask strength) and there's a bit more oak here. I don't however feel the finish is longer or really that the age did more for this one. A part of me feels that those cask strengths are actually pretty old whisky or at least have a good bit of older whisky as it's really surprising how similar they are. Really good whisky but it's a bit bitter/oaky for only 15 years and not as creamy as the cask strength. That said still very good and one that I'll strongly consider getting more of if I can't replace the cask strength options.

My second Tamdhu ever reaffirmed my impression of this distillery: its good... it is really good. Fully matured in spanish oloroso sherry casks, this 15yo is a limited edition (it says limited reserve) and it can be a great rival for Glendronach 15, which is a lot to say. Bottled at 46%abv, tawny color. On the nose it is beautiful. An incredibly clean and accurate Creme brulee note, Toffee, Cofee. Every note feels toasted, so amazing. Fancy caramel; dates and slight cinnamon. Second sip reveals dulce de leche and more toffee. Orange marmalade. Lovely. On the palate it is very enjoyable. Milk powder, orange, brown sugar; hard dulce de leche, very Sugary. Apricots. Toffee. Sweet and great. Aftertaste is also fantastic and gives you a whole new layer of flavors. Oak spice, leather and dulce de leche ice cream. Overall, as soon as you taste this you inmediately know how solid this whisky is. A fancy yet complex and sweet dram, very well crafted. My score for it is 93 over 100, and i definitively recommend it. Good job Tamdhu.

Nose: fresh, very malt, I would say a simple smell without many nuances. This is not necessarily a defect. Palate: equally simple: malt, caramel, toffee, pleasantly sweet. I hear a note of amaretto di saronno. Final: medium short, without smudges. Simple whisky, very drinkable and pleasant. Rating 4.25 _____________________________________________________________ Naso: fresco, molto malto, direi un odorato semplice e senza molte sfumature. Non è detto che sia un difetto. Palato: altrettanto semplice: malto, caramello, toffee, piacevolmente dolce. Sento una nota di amaretto di saronno. Finale: medio breve, senza sbavature. Whisky semplice, molto beverino e piacevole. Voto 4,25

An elegant, Single Malt Scotch by Tamdhu Whisky Distillery in Speyside, Scotland aged for a minimum of 15 years in a combination of European & American oak sherry casks, before being bottled at 46% ABV. It has an aromatic birth with notes of grain, wood, tree & dried fruits, nuts, herbs & spices; while a rich & spicy life adds notes of barley, grilled oranges & pineapples, banana bread, brûlée sugar & fennel; that led to a long & warm death with notes toasted oak & malt, vanilla, citrus zest, apple, apricot, fig, sultanas, cinnamon, clove, cedar, warm leather, butter toffee & chocolate.

This whisky is very well made, but doesn't leave me overly excited. I wanted to like this more than I did, but there is really nothing to complain about. It feels like a blend of bourbon and sherry and it doesn't give me the explosion of flavor from either cask that I'm hoping for. It would be a great whisky to introduce people to sherry. Nose: Vanilla, butterscotch, ethanol, oak, citrus Palate: Vanilla, toffee, orange, raisins, oak, pepper, slight sulfur Finish: Not as long as I had hoped, slightly bitter chocolate and coffee Mouthfeel: Creamy and friendly