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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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March 19, 2015 |
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Vertically Tomatin,
for the better or the better |
Tomatin used to be a huge distillery. Well it still is, but several others have become fairly bigger than Tomatin in recent years. Let’s see if the light exotic fruitiness is to be found in all vintages or not… |
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Tomatin 12 yo 2002/2014 'Cuatro #1' (46%, OB, fino sherry finish, 1500 bottles)  Fino’s very interesting, but this is only a finishing. Well, a little more than that, as this baby spent 3 years in fino wood. I like the ‘Spanish’ packaging. Colour: gold. Nose: starts rather buttery and spicy, with more yeast than usual, a feeling of fino indeed (walnuts and apples), then rather almonds and a tiny-wee bit of scented soap. It is a little winey. Mouth: good and bizarre. Not quite whisky, not quite heavily fortified sherry. Sour apples, cumin, walnuts, crystallised oranges, bitter chocolate, cloves, spicy gingerbread, dried pears… I find it rather Christmassy, with all these spices. Good mulled white wine! The body’s perfect. Finish: rather long, with again a tiny soapiness, then more spices, oranges and walnuts. Comments: don’t expect to find any Tomatinness in this one, but what’s sure is that they made it very well. SGP:551 - 82 points. |
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Tomatin 12 yo 2002/2014 'Cuatro #2' (46%, OB, manzanilla finish, 1500 bottles) This one fights the same battle. What’s more, manzanilla can be extremely close to fino. Colour: gold. Nose: it seems to be a notch fatter and rounder, which was unexpected. More truffles and struck matches as well, a bit of rubber, cut flowers, herbal teas, bitter marmalade, caraway… I think I liked the fino a little better. Mouth: this is different, drier, unexpectedly smoky (did they season ex-Islay casks with manzanilla – but indeed manzanilla can be very coastal and border smokiness). Lovely oranges and pink grapefruits, plus something flinty. Then more green spices, green peppercorns, as well as drops of Fanta or something like that. Finish: quite long, lemony and spicy. Schweppes-lemon, seriously. Earth in the aftertaste. Comments: another unusual one, fun to taste. Perhaps a little tiring. SGP:461 - 80 points. |
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Tomatin 17 yo 1997/2014 (51%, The Whisky Agency, Liquid Library, refill hogshead, 268 bottles)  Colour: white wine. Nose: in a way, it’s the opposite of the finos. Whistle-clean, all on grass and garden fruits, especially gooseberries and apples. That’s all folks. A bone dry Sancerre. With water: a little more syrup, a little more roundness and sweetness. Mouth (neat): this has more roundness. Tinned peaches and pears plus a light honey syrup and a fistful of white cherries and greengages. Perfect lemony backbone. Super-clean, super-fruity. With water: same. Extremely approachable and drinkable. Watch your bottles. Finish: medium long, fruity, clean, easy… Comments: 100% uncomplicated pleasures. Not a single tiny flaw. SGP:541 - 86 points. |
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Tomatin 16 yo 1997/2014 (56.4%, James MacArthur, Old Masters, bourbon, cask #5969) This should be similar. Colour: white wine. Nose: not it’s not. I mean, similar. It’s much grassier, more of bread and yeast, yoghurt, coal smoke, even tar… Maybe that’s the higher strength. The fruits are almost absent at this point. Intriguing. With water: what, creosote? Mouth: ah there, lemons… and peat! It definitely was an ex-peater cask, maybe even Laphroaig. The Tomatin absorbed peaty and medicinal notes like a sponge, it seems, to the point where this rather feels like some vatted malt. And I find it excellent! So yeah, there, a new recipe, 90% fresh and clean Tomatin + 10% Laphroaig. Have to try that one day. With water: superb! Amazing how water worked here. This baby reminds me of Douglas Laing’s newish Rock Oyster (tasting notes unpublished at time of writing). Finish: long and coastal. Un-Tomatin, and really good. Comments: a very interesting bottle that started so-so and became wonderful. Reminds me of those Evan Williams ads showing girls before and after aging who… oh forget. SGP:552 - 87 points. |
Dear owners, the floor is yours again… |
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Tomatin 18 yo 1990/2008 (58.3%, OB, for Germany, refill bourbon, cask #16351, 173 bottle)  Colour: pale gold. Nose: yeah, there, tropical fruits! We knew they were coming, didn’t we. Bananas and mangos, with something Irish, then hawthorn tea and some fresh oak. With water: the wood’s vanilla is getting louder, but never dominating. Perfect fruity lightness. Mouth (neat): mangos, bananas and passion fruits again, not totally in Benriach’s older style, but we’re close. Or maybe rather 1960s Balblair. Blood oranges, rich apples, a bit of nutmeg. Excellent. With water: syrups and fruit cocktails. Drops of light honey. All we still need is a swimming pool and someone playing some early Santana. Finish: medium length. Fresh tropical fruits, honey syrup, vanilla, a touch of cinnamon. Comments: perfect. This may confirm that Tomatin lost a large part of its tropicalness sometime in the early-to-mid 1990s. SGP:641 - 90 points. |
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Tomatin 1987/2014 (46.3%, Càrn Mor, Celebration of the Cask, hogshead, cask #495, 187 bottles)  Colour: gold. Nose: a more mature, more tertiary version of a tropical fruit bomb. The mangos and bananas have become overripe (a bit), while aromatic herbs and teas have joined in the dancing. There are also bags and bags of overripe apples, as well as these notes of blond tobacco that often come with age. A new pack of cigarettes. Mouth: starts a little decadent, with notes of old Sauternes and sultanas starting to rot (just starting). Some parts make me think of some old cognac, but this is sweeter. The sweetness is actually huge, and you really have to love sultanas. Decadent indeed, but there are also guavas and a discreet earthiness that will prevent this baby (and, consequently, the taster) from falling in pure lust. Finish: long, honeyed, rich, very raisiny. Grande Champagne? Comments: some might say this is a little too much, and indeed you could wonder whether this wasn’t some kind of ex-honey cask, but let’s not deny ourselves a good thing. Oh hell, I love it. SGP:751 - 89 points. |
And a last one for the road… |
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Tomatin 40 yo 1967/2007 (42,9%, OB, 1614 bottles) Colour: golden amber. Nose: this entrancing and extravagant tropicalness that was also to be found in 1960s Balblairs and Lochsides, but almost nowhere else. Ah, yes, Bowmore. Mangos, guavas, papayas (loud) and maracuja in total sync, plus ripe apples as fillers. Plus a little camphor, eucalyptus and menthol cigarettes. A few years ago this style was still rather easily available, but today, they’re gone gone gone, extinct, finished, exterminated on the altar of modern Scotch whisky! Now, it’s also a little fragile and wouldn’t stand oxygen for long, getting a little flat and cardboardy. Don’t sip this while listening to In-a-gadda-da-vida! Mouth: exactly the same profile as on the nose, flavour for flavour. And a similar fragility, although it’s got a little more oomph and brightness than expected. As often, a touch of earth in the background helps a lot, as only fruits wouldn’t quite do it. Finish: surprisingly long and zesty, with renewed tropical fruits – and even grapefruits! And certainly bananas. Comments: as often with these very old ‘T’ whiskies (Tomintoul, Tomatin, Tamnavulin…), there are ups and there are downs, but there’s something slightly antiquated that’s just moving. Remember, whisky is time in a bottle. SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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