Tomintoul distillery was founded in 1965 in Ballindalloch, which is a name that we like a lot; the new owners rearranged the core range since 2003, also restlying labels (among them there was the the unmistakable one of the 12 years from the 80s, that is the one you can see
alongside). Anyway Tomintoul keeps doing mainly blended whisky and in 2009 singled out thanks to a bizarre record: they made the biggest whisky bottle ever (144 cm high and containing the equivalent of 150 standard bottles). Today we sip the 10 years old official bottling, at 40%. Color is golden.
N: even at this low degreee, alcohol is present, a little disturbing; there is immediately a “wet cardboard” effect, along with a certain minerality and light notes of brine (and black olives). But let’s get to the most pleasant things about this malt, which still declares itself a ‘gentle dram’: a fruity and sherry-based profile, especially raisins and red fruits, but very gentle, in fact, with suggestions of dried fruit.
P: a very soft palate, where nothing prevails, in a really soft atmosphere: creamy notes, still dried fruit (nuts), vanilla, fruity tips … Not much else; however mouth is better than the nose, at least the alcoholic harshness is lost. In general, we appreciate notes of malt, bare and raw.
F: not very long or intense, it’s all played on an evanescent dried fruit and – still- malt.
This whisky reminds us, slightly worse, the Cardhu 12 years old for the ostentatious delicacy and notes of dried fruit: unfortunately in such a simple dram, the nose’s defects end up cannibalizing the olfactory experience, only partially redeemed by the palate. Our rating, waiting to taste more mature versions, is 74/100. Serge thinks so.
Recommended soundtrack: The Chordettes – Mister Sandman, what a gentleness!
