
May 5, 2017

Three Tamdhu over thirty-eight years

We’re not tasting too many Tamdhus, but that’s shame, because we all know there are great ones around. Let’s get marginally vertical again…

Tamdhu 18 yo 1998/2016 (48.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, cask #11472, 248 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: a bit too herbal, perhaps. I’m getting a lot of hops and beer, and a maltiness that goes towards cardboard at some point. A little too much plasticine as well, this is rather strange. Mouth: a rather bitter maltiness, with a Guinnessy side, some bitter caramel (and yet I’m dead sure there isn’t any inside), something slightly sour and even ashy… Really strange. Finish: quite long but still kind of bitter/sour. More Guinness. Comments: not too fond of this one but something may have gone wrong, I’m almost sure DL wouldn’t have bottled this ‘like this’. Please do not take my score as ‘final’, I’ll try to retry this strange one. SGP:261 - 69 (temporary) points.

Tamdhu 23 yo 1987/2010 (46%, Mo Or Collection, sherry butt, cask #3649, 656 bottles)

Another one from this crazy series from a few years ago. My staunch belief is that those good people at Mo Or were just too early. Colour: amber. Nose: perfect classic walnutty/dry sherriness, with some pumpernickel behind that, as well as many roasted nuts, macadamias, pecans… And the slightest flintiness. Just distant whiffs. Mouth: super good, dry sherry, burnt raisins, fried gingerbread (to go with your foie gras), Ovaltine, espresso… All that. In short, roasted malt. Finish: rather long, on just the same very malty/coffeeish flavours. Plus burnt raisins on an Alsatian kougelhopf. Comments: who needs coffee? SGP:452 - 87 points.

Further back…

Tamdhu 1960/2013 (52.4%, Gordon & MacPhail, Private Collection, sherry hogshead, cask #1008, 36 bottles)

This wee glory from G&M’s actual Directors’ Private Collection, so pretty much off-commerce. In this case, the director was Michael Urquart – hello Michael, you see, we caught this one! There! Colour: gold. Nose: hell, damnation and putrefaction! It’s a whole beehive, with pollen, nectar, beeswax, honey of course, a touch of propolis, no stings, and a pile of overripe apples and apricots in a corner. Some wine friends would call it ‘dry-Yquemy’. With water: but why do G&M’s whiskies get cloudier than others when reduced? Yes, our usual useless questions. Otherwise, more mentholy/chlorophilly notes appear. Propolis! Mouth (neat): that this baby comes from my year has nothing to do with the fact that I do find it rather glorious indeed. What’s noticeable is that it’s extremely oaky, but also that this is one of the rare occurrences where over-oakiness became an asset because of the oak oils that leached into the whisky. Sure you need to like pinesap and thinks like that, but quite serendipitously, these very resinous flavours are almost propolis-like. So yeah, as I said, it’s a very beehive-y old Tamdhu (twaddle, S.). With water: I was scared to death, water could have made it totally bitter. Not so. Quite. Finish: long, very tannic of course, and rather bitter indeed. Some caraway in the aftertaste. Comments: probably not for everyone, which works out very nicely since there eare/were only thirty-six bottles. SGP:371 - 87 points.

Check the index of all Tamdhu I've tasted so far