Tomatin Legacy Review


“An Affordable Summer Malt”

Country: Scotland
Region: Northern Highlands
Brand: Tomatin Legacy
Type: Single Malt
Age: NAS
ABV: 43%

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: Light like a Summer Breeze! This is quite clearly a relatively Young Single Malt. Fruity New Make Spirit on a bed of Pine Needles and light Oak. I find light notes of Lemon Cake, Butterscotch, Buttered Toast, Pencil Shavings, Grass, Tropical Fruit Cocktail, Canned Pineapple, Banana Ice Cream, Vanilla, Malt, Milk Chocolate, Nuts, light Citrus, Floral - and Vegetable Tones and Mint Flavoured Tea. These are mostly subtle Notes though. The Alcohol is not fully integrated and that's a pity. Otherwise it's reasonably Well-Balanced.

Taste: Light and Sweet with Sweet Barley, Pine Needles, Grass, Sweet Honey Candies, Toffee, Fruit Cake with added Cream, Vanilla, White Chocolate, Oak, Lemon, Nuts, Cinnamon and Pepper.    

Finish: Middle-Long, Mostly Sweet and Buttery with Sweet Barley, Apple-Pie, Ginger Bread, Dairy, Lemon, Salted Nuts, Pepper and Cinnamon. A bit Dry in the end with a light Metallic Off-Note.

I added a few drops of Water and on the Nose you get extra Barley, Dairy, Fruit and Toffee. Palate and Finish become too Thin. However, it's nice to Nose it with a bit of Added Water!

Rating: 82.5   

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20  - Overall: 20.5 

My Miniature of the Legacy

General Remarks: The Tomatin Distillery was founded in 1897 and is located close to the A9 Motorway, halfway between Aviemore and Inverness. Over the years it grew very fast and today it has one the largest production capacities in the industry, although the distillery is currently not producing at full capacity. It is owned by the Japanese Takara Shuzo and Okura Group. A large part of the production (80%) goes into blends like Antiquary and Talisman. Lately the distillery is making an effort to promote its Single Malts. The Tomatin Legacy is a new NAS Entry Level that was launched in 2013. It matured in a mix of Ex-Maker's Mark Bourbon Barrels and Virgin Oak Casks. It costs on average 30 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Light, Fruity and Uncomplicated Summer Dram. Might do quite well over a little Ice. Great Value for Money as well if you can find it at around 30 US Dollars. The Nose is Light and Sweet with lots of Tropical Fruit. Like Brazilian New Make Spirit! If that would be produced over here of course which it ain't! A touch too Light on the Palate. Here a bit of extra Wood Contact would have helped. In the Finish there's this light Metallic Off-Note that probably should not have been there. But if you like the Flavour Profile and like Young, Light and Fruity Whisky you can't go wrong with the Tomatin Legacy at this price level.

Jan van den Ende                                                              December 26, 2014

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now known in the United States as Tomatin Dualchas (Gaelic for Legacy). Great NAS single malt. I've been a blended scotch guy for years------not so much now since having tried this relatively new offering by Tomatin.... Indeed there is a bitter taste in the finish but I find it much more close to a dark chocolate-like bitterness which then becomes very woody tasting (the young European Oak coming through)..... In no way did I taste any metallic off notes........Alas-----personal tastes are VERY subjective indeed......

Jan van den Ende said...

Hi there, thanks for commenting. A pity you didn't leave your name. I think we quite agree on the fact that the Legacy or Dualchas is a good value for money Single Malt. Of course personal tastes are always subjective and can be influenced by a lot of external factors we don't control like temperature, location, personal state of mind and so on. And like I say in "About the Site". My opinion is as good as yours. I am a bit surprised that you state the European Oak as I was quite sure that (at least the Legacy) matured (mainly) in Ex-Bourbon Casks with some additional Virgin American Oak. If you have any info on this matter, please let me know. I do hope you liked the site!
Cheers!
Jan

C.C. Knight said...

Hello Jan! My name is Jesse-----I'm the guy who made the comment above from February 23 2015 at 00:06.... As I understand it, the Dualchas/Legacy is matured in a combination of both ex-Maker's Mark bourbon barrels and European Virgin Oak casks... I can actually taste the whisper of Maker's Mark at first contact w/the tongue (love that whiskey too) :)
It is now the beginning of August and I just now discovered that you responded to my initial commentary----how very cool!!! I have found that the Tomatin Dualchas only costs $18.99+tax (which comes out to $20.03) which I find to be quite a bargain considering how tasty this NAS single malt is... I've also enjoyed an occasional bottle of the 12 year Tomatin which costs more around $30.00 and has the unmistakable influence of sherry flavors mixed in and a bit more nuttiness. I actually still prefer the tasting notes of the younger Dualchas and it has become my "go to" for a nice scotch on the rocks.... Sometime soon I'm going to try a bottle of the 15 year----I'll be sure to leave a comment here when I do get one to report on the tasting notes.. If you'd like to communicate further w/me feel free to drop me an email at jregenauer@yahoo.com.......... I reside in west central Wisconsin here in the United States.... Have a great one!!!!

Jan van den Ende said...

Hi Jesse, thanks for replying! Look forward to your impressions on the 15 Years. Will try to get me a sample as well somewhere! Do you have a FB page? If so, perhaps you could send me a friend request!
Cheers!
Jan