Tamnavulin Sherry Cask Edition

Tasted most recently on the Keith and Dufftown Railway “Dram Tram”, Sunday 5th May 2024 and also from a bottle of Batch L2060 07:51 P/013142. Several prior tastings. Nose: Honey, malt, floral bouquet, sherry, banana, vanilla. Over time the nose opens and gains a nice, rich malty depth. Palate: The arrival is sweet and very soft, like butter cookies and caramel. Sultanas, raisins, dark honey, red fruits and absolute truckloads of milk chocolate appear in the development. The texture is silky and luxurious, but not oily. Finish: Short. Leafy, apples, pears and a little honey and pepper ham glaze. Tamnavulin does not get a lot of attention outside of Scotland (outside of Speyside, for that matter) which is a shame as it’s a great session whisky. The core Double Cask Expression is a pleasant, gentle whisky that deserves to be more popular, but this Sherry Cask Edition takes things up a step. It’s a simple, linear whisky with little progression that focuses on sweet fruity malt. It fades quickly but there is absolutely nothing bad going on here and although it might sound a bit dull it’s a delicious and very easy everyday dram. It also expands nicely in the glass with both the nose and palate showing more chocolate over time. It's one of those whiskies you can share with a complete novice and you will both be happy. The label says “Batch 30502” but this has been there on all bottlings since 2019 when it was introduced, so it’s just marketing guff. The heel L2060 code on my bottle indicates it was a 2022 bottling but I’ve had this a number of times and it has been very consistent. This is good whisky and very good value. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 21/07/2023 Ankara Burun: Elma, narenciye, vanilya hafif meşe Damak: Önce yumuşak ve yuvarlak, net Amasya elması tadı, vanilya, hafif narenciye aromaları ve hafif içimli. Bitiş: Orta bitişli, çoğunlukla vanilya, tatlı elma aroması mevcut. Önce köşeli sonrasında yuvarlak ve yarı dolgun bir bitiş. Genel Yorum: Tamnavulin Sherry Cask sahip olduğu hafif ve tatlı burun, damak ve bitiş profilleri ile güzel bir deneyim yaşamanızı sağlayan, denenmeyi hakeden bir ekspresyon. 82/100

Lots of raisins, some salty sea, and sherry perfume on the nose. Sweet caramel and vanilla on the palate with a wisp of smoke that gives way to ginger and orange peel as a finish. A smooth dram with little nooks and crannies of flavors to go exploring in. A decent budget whiskey, if also a bit watery. I would buy it again as a daily dram. On second sip, there’s more vanilla, caramel, and chocolate smells and flavors come through and the sherry perfume goes away.

Second tasting of the evening. Very discreet and not deep taste, in a bad sense. Sharp alcohol taste and alcohol burning in the mouth. Lots of sharp sweet. A bit of wood cask in the finish. But at the same time, there is a hint of balance in the taste. The smell a lot of alcohol. The nose burns and tickles. Aftertaste: coffee and cigarettes, in a bad sense. Lots and lots of alcohol burning.

Affordable on sale so gave it a shot. It’s the definition of a sherry bomb on the nose right out of the gate. I like a touch of sherry but not too much and actually in the palate it’s not as strong. It’s a mild slightly sweet scotch to taste, mildly pleasing I’d say. The finish is curious at best, certainly not what I’d expect or want. Might buy again if on sale.

It's more likely to be mixed with sherry rather than matured in sherry casks. Too sweet for me but the first sipping was quite good) Update: after a couple days from opening the bottle the taste has become more balanced and pleasant without this expressive sweetness. This makes me change my score to 4.25. It's now very good one for sipping.