Tomatin 18 Year Oloroso Sherry Casks

Tomatin 12 is a very underrated single malt. Great affordability for respectable quality. I figure the performance of the 12 earned a purchase of the 18-year. This bottle is from the old style-packaging with the slender black box, so it’s definitely not current and this could have been bottled almost a decade ago or more, so your mileage may vary quite a bit. Nose: Butterscotch, honey, toffee, caramel, and vanilla. Toasted almond and walnut. Plum, date, fig, and golden raisin develop with time, reflecting the Olorosso sherry influence. Some perfume-y notes that I get from some of the Macallan Edition No. Series (thinking 3 and 5.) Honeydew. Palate: Gala apple. Caramel, toffee, and milk chocolate. Orange citrus. Malt. Heavy on the almond, this time with some salted peanut. Sugar cookie. Golden raisin and apricot. Vanilla frosting. Cantaloupe. Barely any spice. Just a touch of white pepper. Oak. Finish: More of that Olorosso red fruit. Fig, date, plum, cranberry. Golden raisin. Toasted almond and walnut. Gala apple and apricot. Cinnamon, white pepper, and oak. Definitely getting the spice on the finish. Moderate length. .75/1/.75 Another fine effort from Tomatin. It’s got a balanced profile that highlights some of the tried-and-true features of a sherried Speyside. Not unique enough to reach the top of the shelf, but it’s a deadly focused malt that is practically beyond criticism when you consider what it is trying to accomplish. And what is that exactly? It’s an affordable Highland malt with an unusually low price tag. It’s accessible both in terms of price and taste for the average whisky drinker. At $85, this is unbelievably cheap for an 18-year, which is the age that I consider to be the turning point in a distillery’s line: it demarcates the realm of everyday drinker from the ultra-premium class. And this is priced as if it were a regular daily drinker. A great whisky to share with friends newer to the genre. And yet it is worthy of appreciation from a Scotch-head who won’t settle for boring. 4.25/5. Well done, Tomatin.

Bottled 2017. I’m probably going to restock on Tomatin’s 12, 15, and 18 soon. Tomatin makes competent single malts at unbelievable prices. I’ve seen this 18 year old as low as $70. To be sure, Tomatin does nose and taste like an economy malt; but compared to other economy malts I’ve tried: Glen Moray, Tullibardine, Speyburn; Tomatin is actually enjoyable enough to buy a full bottle. If I had this blind, I probably would’ve guessed it was 12-15 years old, not 18; unless I could pick up that it was Tomatin. Tomatin distillate actually has a characterful green apple and pear fruitiness that is quite identifiable for me. The oloroso sherry cask influence is obvious, but superficial. The raisins, sultanas, plums, and nutmeg are on the surface of this dram, but they do not plant any roots into the base of this whisky, which is grassy and honeyed. If you try too hard to search for a deeper meaning in this whisky, you will find flawed spices and vanilla notes from exhausted wood from a refill of a refill of a refill… This whisky is best enjoyed with only part of your attention; it is a fine dram to sip on while cooking, for example, which is fine, given the asking price. In the end, this whisky is far from memorable; but the price is also far from being unfair. Score: 0 (forgettable) How much does a bottle cost: $70-100 How much do I think a bottle is worth: $75

On the nose it is sweet and fresh, with a light herbaceous profile that acts as a counterpoint to a profusion of ripe fruit (pineapple, peach, pear, plum), raisins infused in alcohol, Milk candy, cinnamon. In the background, a woody caress (watch out for splinters). Amiable but not pimp. The palate is interesting, placing a bitterish tip of licorice and anise next to the sweetness of the fruit, which together with chocolate, hazelnuts and, ça va sans dire, cinnamon adds thickness to the drink. Wood becomes more present, on the threshold of invasiveness but managing to keep just one step back, drying the tongue. A certain floral freshness remains, although largely in the background. Medium-long finish, made of wood, anise, hazelnuts, raisins. The bitter side I admit to be a bit unsettling, and to some it could be quite repulsive, while for me it is what has given this whisky an extra gear, making it varied and fun: the sherry endings they all tend to feel the same, while here wood has contributed to give a three-dimensionality. We are right on the edge, an extra push and everything would have collapsed (therefore, more than ever, this is a very personal feel), but for me it is promoted.

After the Bushmills Steamship Sherry and the Scallwag 13 yr (Aberlour i am picking) this sherried offering is a sharp step down. This starts sweet and not to bad on the top palate but then as scotchinghard noted green apple like notes, bittering finish. This is my 11th Tomatin variety and personally whilst most have been middle of the road fair this one ranks near bottom. Higher than their awful 'Five Virtues' offerings. This distillery is a bit like Glenrothes, by in large they don't seem to be able to achieve anything great but when a 3rd party independent bottler like Adelphi get their hands on the distillate man it can blow you away - 4.5 rating and one of the top drams out of around 120 I sampled at Dramfest. It really shows great spirit, poor tired overused casking used in their official bottling. I do have 1 official limited 2400 run European and North American oak bottling a 21 yr which was really nice. This blargh, there is a reason why it's one of the cheapest 18 year olds.

Finally a good Tomatin. I have had a couple before, the cheaper core expressions and they werent anything to die for. This one is great. Bottled at 43%abv, On the nose amontillado sherry (just as glenmorangie tayne) (i know that itbis oloroso sherry but for me, it was amontillado). Orange Jam and chocolate cake. It is just like Glenmorangie The Tayne but without the alcohol note. On the palate, more of the same, Orange, Cake, Tobacco; Bitterness comes and goes. Finish is very long and seems to repeat itself in your palate, almost neverending. Overall i think this is a great dram, for me it is at least a 95 over 100, and if you ever drink Tomatin, be sure you start on this one.

(first tasting, right after opening and letting sit in glass for 30 minutes) Nose : Initially hit with strong tropical fruit notes, pineapple, mango, etc. Coming back to it, it reminds me of a butterscotch malt from a diner. Tropical fruits, butterscotch, caramel, vanilla, barley sugar, oak. Palate : Oak, butterscotch, apple, pineapple, slight spice. Thick and velvety mouthfeel, very smooth and creamy. Overall this is probably the best value Scotch i have ever purchased. This was $75 and well worth every penny. Non chill filtered, natural color, and 46% abv add to the greatness. If you can find this for $75-$85, grab two of them. 10/10 value, 8.5/10 palate, 9/10 nose.