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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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February 3, 2021 |
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You say Tomato, I say Tomatin |
I suppose we've done that lousy joke fifty times already. And they say a little Tomatin lifts your chin! Yes we also do free slogans for the post-Covid brands that would like to adopt future marketing methods. Which, as we all know, will also involve words such as 'hacking', 'exploding' or 'bombing'. But first, the usual aperitif… |
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Tomatin 'Limited Metal Edition' (46%, OB, bourbon barrels, 6000 bottles, +/-2020) 
This has not, mind you, anything to do with heavy metal doom hard rock bands or any other aural delicacies, the word 'metal' being related to their stills. Not bad, in the old days good whisky folks used to talk much more about their stills, and much less about their woods that anyone's got anyway. The good old times… Colour: very pale white wine, so probably very little wood indeed. Nose: pears, chalk and porridge, that's what we were expecting. Feels extremely natural at first, before a little more bourbonness would chime in, around vanilla and barley syrup. Gooseberries, probably, but no metal as such (like tin box, copper coins, old iron, tools and such). So perhaps not quite for Ozzy O.… Mouth: good, mucho natural indeed, on barley or just grist, then golden delicious and a few orange zests. Uncomplicated, but body and balance are perfect. Finish: of good length, with a little more oranges, barley syrup, and apples in the aftertaste. Pleasant lightness. Comments: no doom metal, it's all about good simple pleasures. Like Ozzy O., no? Goes to show you how much I know about those areas of rock and roll. Good and gentle.
SGP:541 - 84 points. |
Perhaps something a little more rock and roll… |
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Tomatin 10 yo 2009/2020 (61.2%, OB for Whisky Journey Singapore, verdejo cask, 350 bottles) 
Verdejo ? Gulp, I like that but the wines can be green and tart, I sometimes call them 'vertebra ticklers'. But then again, I'm French. What I understand is that this was a 'recharred verdejo hogshead'. All right then, there's something new every day… Colour: gold. Nose: this is strong but we're well in Tomatin territories, with all these tart fruits, including granny smith and grapefruits. The thing is, in my meagre experience those fruits are also to be found in verdejo. All right then… With water: totally young Tomatin of high quality. I would say the hogshead, whether recharred or not, did not change much to this classic profile. Forgot to mention melons. All right then… |
Mouth (neat): yes, very Tomatin, very sharp in a good way, acidic, blade-y. Actually, it's more on unripe green fruits and lemons, which indeed, reminds me of those chilled verdejo (or verdelho) you could drink with langoustines in coastal Spain or Portugal. With water: rounder, fruitier, and this time we're even closer to 'Tomatin' (fruit salad here) with just a touch of rose jelly or gewurztraminer. Probably from the verdejo this time. Finish: rather long, fresh and refreshing – but not a 61.2%. Comments: a very interesting set-up where the wine cask may have added 'more of the whisky' instead of complementing it, if you see what I mean. Next, a Clynelish wax finish? Really cool and good.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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Did you think those 61.2% vol. were a little steep? Watch this… |
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Tomatin 2014/2020 (66.4%, Or Sileis, Strathdearn, second fill sherry barrel, cask #9900001, 282 bottles) 
Strathdearn is a hall in Tomatin. As for the strength, that's no typo, I suppose this one was stored just under a roof (in Death Valley Junction, California). As you know, strengths go up in a hot and dry environment. Colour: salmony amber, I would say. Nose: acetone, butterscotch and café latte – but of course. With water: a jeroboam of old balsamico vinegar, perhaps touches of truffle oil, old hessian, and probably even more acetone too. Very unusual nose. Gets rounder and gentler but needs time (cake and ripe apples). Mouth (neat): not sure I should, but it seems that Covid succumbs to these strengths, so… More café latte, varnish, probably eggplants, blueberry jelly, perhaps… With water: still very bizarre, and on the same notes, more or less. Some kind of liquid Scottish moussaka. Touches of metal polish (there!) and more eggplant yet. Finish: rather long, on similar notes. Some metallic sourness in the aftertaste, some lime juice too, and a sulphuriness. Comments: a lot of fun to be had with this one, but it really is a little, say lunatic. A mad scientist's whisky.
SGP:552 - 79 points. |
Let's try to cool all this down… |
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Tomatin 30 yo 1990/2020 (48.9%, The Whisky Agency, 'Keep Going', hogshead, 180 bottles) 
With such a name, I suppose this is a tribute to Johnnie Walker, is it not? And with such a bottler, we have expectations… Colour: pale gold. Nose: ah yes, it's a bit like the 'Metal' OB, but times ten. A large fruit salad (preserved pears and peaches, bananas, oranges, cherries…) with some mountain honey and dashes of chalk. A perfect breadiness is complementing all that (or fresh fruit brioche), as well as a wee glass of Sauternes for good measure. Mouth: perfect bright fruity freshness that would remind us of the 1960s and 1970s. Same flavours as on the nose, fresh and preserved fruits, an adorable lightness that's not light (are you following me?), possibly as subtle and delicate as, as, come on, drop Botticelli, say Giovanni Strazza's famous Veiled Virgin! Several kinds of lemons are particularly noticeable. Finish: medium, but possibly not totally the best part. Loses a bit of wee bit zing and gets a tad too grassy. Comments: this time we're nearing perfection. Very well done, Whisky Agency.
SGP:651 - 89 points. |
And to make this a quintet… |
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Tomatin 10 yo 2006/2016 (58.9%, The Cyprus Whisky Association, cask #4191, 222 bottles)
I-want-to-fly-to-Cyprus! Colour: white wine. Nose: a natural, naked one again, with even a little paraffin this time. Other than that, let's mention white peaches, apples, and probably fresh almonds. I find this pretty perfect – and chalky to boot. With water: cassata and muesli, plus this chalkiness. Mouth (neat): fat and even thick, oily, creamy, pretty much on apples and almonds, with the high strength adding a lot of body. Should be good. With water: it is, citrus are popping out, so do tiny mentholy herbs, a little butter, perhaps a wee spoonful of mashed pumpkins, with a dollop of double cream of course. Bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Finish: medium, with unexpected touches of burnt pine wood. No, really. Comments: not much to add, except that this is as good as 10 yo 'natural' whisky can get, and that I-want-to-fly-to-Cyprus! Meanwhile, we're in lockdown.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
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