Tomatin 12 Year Bourbon & Sherry Casks

Nose: Stewed apples, juice from crushed apples that is starting to go brown, butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla, banana and caramel. It’s a rich nose right from first sniff but it does not evolve over time in the glass. Palate: The arrival is momentarily sweet but rapidly develops a lot of heat with some hard, gritty cereal and cask flavours. It is drying, and a bitter grapefruit note emerges in the later palate, which I would say is due to tannin from indifferent sherry casks. The texture is good with a pleasant oiliness, but it is obscured by the edgy flavours. Finish: Medium. Fruity, but overpowered by bitter tannin. Apples are prominent throughout this profile. The nose has a full and buttery quality with a suggestion of mango, and it outperforms the palate which is hot, hard and bordering on harsh (at least when neat). A dash of water subdues the palate and presents ginger and chilli rather than straightforward tannic heat, but it does not rise to any sort of greatness and, like the nose, it does not evolve over time. If the neat palate was as good as the nose I’d rate this more highly, but as it stands it’s just average, which is a disappointment. I’ve tasted Tomatin that is much better than this. Tasted from a 50ml distillery miniature. “Average” : 77/100 (2.5 stars)

Nose: Pleasant but unremarkable—soft caramel, dried fruit, and a touch of vanilla. The sherry influence is faint, offering just a whisper of raisins and oak. Palate: Smooth and approachable, with mild honey, toffee, and a hint of spice. The mouthfeel is thin, lacking depth, and the bourbon and sherry casks fail to leave a distinct impression. Finish: Short and forgettable. A slight warmth lingers, but there’s no complexity or evolution—just a gentle fade into mild oak and sweetness. Verdict: Disappointingly boring. While perfectly drinkable, the Tomatin 12 lacks nuance and character. It’s a safe, inoffensive dram, but nothing about it stands out. For those seeking depth or excitement, look elsewhere. Score: 3.5/5

Second tasting that is from a bottle near finished. Letting this air out opens the profile and softens the bourbon finish. A bottle of scotch that ages like fine scotch. The nose is a bouquet of flowers wrapped in leather with caramel. This bottle is over a year old and still sings of flavour. The palate is rich and full, A nice dram you can chew on for a while. Candied Apples drizzled in toffee and some vanilla. The finish brings some chilli with more toffee. Its short, with the chilli lasting more medium in length. I’m a fan of most offerings from Tomatin, the 12 IMO is one of the best for dollar value with a profile that is most popular. Sadly, the price point jumped since the pandemic.

The nose is fun, stone fruity, almost a little grassy, quite fragrant that changes as it sits, not in a bad way. The pallet is fruity and woody, it comes in a little harder than the Legacy, which is super smooth, but again, not a bad thing. After the sip, butterscotch appears in the nose which was unexpected and nice. There’s a woodiness and slight sweetness for a short time, then the pleasant taste is gone fairly quickly, but totally. Ergo, requiring another nip.🙂 (or two) Its good, but I prefer the Legacy.

I tasted this Highland scotvh neat at 43%abv. in the evening. It is chill-filtered and with added artificial colouring. The nose is sweet with honey and maybe some dates in the backdrop. It smells sweet like some sort of honey toffee candy. I get the hint of apricots as well. The taste is sweet up front in the heat of the alcohol. Sherry cask influence is there but not overbearing. The finish is medium in length but lacking in substance.

Having this after a brewery excursion so my palate is definitely affected. Nose: honey, milky caramel, a hint of maple. Stewed fruit, poached/candied red apple. Hint of wood varnish. Palate: orchard fruit, caramel, mild earthy sherry elements. A hint of green apple bite. some chewy sweet malt. Sweet Lemon zest as it transitions to finish. Finish: definitely getting the buttery element here. Slightly waxy. Mild tannins.