Tomintoul Peaty Tang

Stop number 36 on the SDT is Tomintoul. This Speyside distillery is located in the area around the river Livet, in the Glenlivet area to be specific. Not to say it is near the Glenlivet distillery, but in the Livet glen. I think I got that right, but I digress. Bottled at 40% ABV, and as such I think it's fair to say that it is chill filtered and has colorant added that makes it a yellow gold in color. Peaty Tang is a NAS expression. The nose is a lovely soft fruity peat. Not a strong peat at all, somewhere between HP and Lagavulin I would say. It's full of orchard fruits. Apricots, oranges and some lemon. Heather honey and maybe some vanilla. A minuscule amount of oak. A little bit of that ashy/tar note found in many a peated scotch, but it's more fruit than anything else. Plum and white grape juice follow. It's very light overall, but pleasant. A very gentle arrival on that palate. Lightly peated. Peat smoke, some ashes. Grilled apricots and maybe pineapple with a touch of coconut. It's sweet, but the sweetness is tempered by the peat. Again, very light but nice. Very light mouthfeel. A little oily but mostly thin. Mouthwatering. The finish is medium length that turns slightly dry with smoked fruits. What can I say? It's a incredibly light scotch. If it wasn't peated I don't think it would have much flavor at all, except some light fruits. It feels like an Ardbeg 10 that was watered down to 30% ABV or less. Probably a good way to introduce your friends to peated whisky without scaring them off. While there is nothing really wrong with this dram, there isn't anything to grab your attention either. I understand that this is the profile that Tomintoul was going for, but it's just not for me. Bump it up to 48% and nix the chill filtering and you might have something worth buying. As it stands I think $60 for this is too high. $40 would be more appropriate, especially for a NAS. Another distillery checked off the list. Thanks to Ryan for the sample. 3.25 Cheers

Nose: Light, sweet fragrant smoke - almost perfumed and very soft. You clearly detect cereal and malt aromas behind the peat and there is some fruit, vanilla, anise and honey as well. It's elegant and demure and completely unlike an Islay nose. Palate: Ultra-soft and crisply clean arrival, with some mild fruity notes, cereal and gentle, ashy smoke. Extremely mellow and rounded, smooth and restful. It's like taking a nap on a pile of fresh dry autumn leaves. It's not a complex palate and there is little development, but it's soothing and pleasant with good texture. Finish: Medium. Soft sweet smoke, naptha and a little brine in the aftertaste, which lingers and turns quite sweet. Tomintoul in very unusual raiment, which it wears with style. This is probably the most gentle, relaxed and non-threatening peated whisky you can find. It would be an ideal dram to give to a friend who you know prefers gentle whiskies but wants to try something peated for the first time. There is nothing at all challenging here, and that's the problem as well as the feature. If you're looking for something like Ardbeg, Laphroaig or Caol Ila then stay well clear because you will think this is thin, watery and flavourless. On the other hand if you do not normally enjoy highly peated whisky and are searching for that profile in it's friendliest form, then here is your dram, and it is very reasonably priced. I thought this was pleasant but the question is: would I buy a bottle? The answer is, probably not. Although I liked the sample I tasted, I just can't see myself ever reaching for this. When it comes to peated whisky I don't necessarily want my socks blown off every time, but I do pour those drams in expectation of something assertive, and that's not what this is all about. Then again, I just polished off the tasting sample without even thinking about it and I'm smacking my lips with enjoyment, so who knows? Tasted from a 30ml sampler "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)

I finally took some time yesterday morning to sit down with this one and give it a proper go (I’ve been working nights the last 2 weeks due to a safety inspection at my work- I don’t make it a habit of waking up and getting tipsy. In case you were wondering, lol). This bottle was offered up as a sample for our tour group by Ryan, via me. Tomintoul advertises themselves as the gentle dram. This peated version is something they do a couple times a year to fill out their portfolio, I think. I get the whole gentle dram when it comes to sherried or even ex-bourbon Speyside style malts. A gentle peat whisky seems out of place, IMO. Just like this bottle... The nose is quite heavily peated and smoked. If there are some gentle fruit notes intended they were overpowered by the peat smoke for sure. It smells a tad sweet, but not overly so. The palate is also wrecked by the smoke- it’s heavy. There’s also a metallic flavor that just doesn’t meld well with anything. I wouldn’t call it harsh- just weird. The finish is medium length, a bit peppery with another over abundance of smoke. My first thought was that this was a mediocre whisky with artificial smoke added for effect. I know it wasn’t made this way, it’s just the impression I got. Overall, I wouldn’t buy another bottle of this and I really don’t want to finish what I have. It’s not offensive and worthy of a drain pour- I just don’t have much desire to drink any more of it. 2.25 stars.

Part of our Scottish distillery trade team, this was provided by Ryan. I was so looking forward to this. It's like back in high school. Graduation day. You go to the podium, give the valedictorian speech, collect your awards in math and science. And then then comes the real fun, you've been looking forward to the night post ceremonies. You go out with all your friends , pocket full of singles, to your first strip club. EXCEPT...you're only 17, and your friends are all 18!!!! And you don't have a fake license. (sure...get a scholarship to University of Michigan, but can't get a fake license). And oh..thanks mom and dad for making me skip that extra grade in grammar school...now I'm stuck in Joe's Diner having coffee and pound cake, while my friends are inside the strip club. Yes. That's what this felt like. Was looking forward to my first Tomintoul, especially with a name like Peaty Tang. But, instead it's more like a watered down Lagavulin or Ardbeg. Save yourself the money, and instead pour a dram of Ardbeg, and top it with three drams of water. Voila, there's your Peaty Tang. What's the lesson learned in all this? DON'T MAKE YOUR KIDS SKIP A GRADE.

I bought a bunch of Tomintoul 5cl miniature bottles, and of course i started my journey with the peaty expression. This speyside whisky is marketed as a dram that has a "peaty tang". Bottled at 40%abv, gold color. On the nose, pretty interesting. Apples, vanilla custard, Stinky peat and Pears. Mud, a cheap citric note; wet grass. Cloth softener. Fruity and peaty. After a first sip it gave me apple pie and mostly pears. It feels herbal, peaty and fruity. On the palate, it is dim, very light. Pear, apples, slight pepper, slight saltiness. It is a very light whisky. Aftertaste is one of the shortest i have ever tasted. A little salty, very watery. Very dim spiciness. Almost no aftertaste. There is some peaty nice flavor after the third sip, but it lasts one second. Overall, this whisky is exactly as drinking a peaty pear juice, it lacks body, it lacks personality, and it is too light. I think the aroma is nice, but the rest is nothing. My score for it is 69 over 100.

Nose has an earthy base that is malty that contains notes of honey, lemon, floral, faint whispers of peat, which leaves impressions of damp leaves, with a slight amount of vanilla. A thin, diluted, soft body that contains honey and iodine and is slightly phenolic. It has a finish that is medium short that lingers in the front. The honey sweetness dissolves to black pepper and leaves the palate ashy and bitter, like smoking a cheap cigar. The addition of water opens more floral and honey tones but mutes the peat however the peat is more pronounced in the mouth. Finish is shorter and more balanced. Preferrable with a splash of water. This is a dram that doesn't know what it wants to be: a young Speysider that is wishing to be an Islay. This is not a bad dram and is priced extremely fair. [84/82/100]. [Revisited: 4/17/15]. [Revisited: 5/23/15; 11/22/17].