“Don’t Have a Cigar”
Whisky Review # 1035
Country: Scotland 🏴
Region: Speyside
Brand: Tomintoul Cigar Malt
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: NAS
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 43%
Maturation: Either fully matured in - or finished in Oloroso butts from Andalusia
Maturation: Either fully matured in - or finished in Oloroso butts from Andalusia
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: US$ 70-90 (October 2024)
Price/Quality Ratio: 😐 Okay I guess
Buying Advice: 👎 Not good enough to pair with a first class cigar.
Price/Quality Ratio: 😐 Okay I guess
Buying Advice: 👎 Not good enough to pair with a first class cigar.
Colour: Very Dark Amber with shades of Red (Natural Colour)
Nose:
Please give this Tomintoul enough time in the glass and avoid nosing in the middle the glass as there is Alcohol around. It's quite Light and Thin on the Nose and it's a Young Malt. I assume that most of the Spirit only had a Sherry Finish. You can smell the Sherry casks but certainly not in an overwhelming way. The Nose is Sweet but not overly so and there are a few Sour & Salty notes for balance. Only a touch of Smoke in the background as well as a very light Sulphur note. My first thought was that this Cigar Malt seems on the light side to be able to accompany a good Cigar.
Main Aromas:
Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Salted Caramel, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Apricot, Plums, Dates & Figs, Sour Red Berries & Cherries (Strawberry, Raspberry) Dark - & Milk Chocolate, Nuts, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger and Nutmeg.
Supportive Aroma Accents:
Toffee, Wax, Demerara Sugar, Smoke, Earthy Peat, Ashes, Polished Upholstery, Orange, Banana Bread, Licorice, Aniseed, Pepper, Herbs and a hint of Pork.
Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Salted Caramel, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Apricot, Plums, Dates & Figs, Sour Red Berries & Cherries (Strawberry, Raspberry) Dark - & Milk Chocolate, Nuts, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger and Nutmeg.
Supportive Aroma Accents:
Toffee, Wax, Demerara Sugar, Smoke, Earthy Peat, Ashes, Polished Upholstery, Orange, Banana Bread, Licorice, Aniseed, Pepper, Herbs and a hint of Pork.
Relatively Young, a little Hot & on the Thin side. A mix of Sweet, Bitter and Sour notes. Quite Dry. The Smoke is more noticeable but remains in the background. A good Cigar deserves a Single Malt with more character in my opinion.
Main Flavours:
Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Salted Caramel, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Raisins, Dates and Plums, Nuts, Dark Chocolate, Sour Red Berries and Cherries, Tobacco, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cloves, Ginger and Cardamom.
Supportive Flavour Accents:
Vanilla, Honey, Toffee, Wax, Smoke, Earthy Peat, Grass, Charred Oak, Cigar Box, Orange, Cooked Apples, Leather, Peanut Butter, Metal, Aniseed, Cinnamon and a hint of Pork.
Vanilla, Honey, Toffee, Wax, Smoke, Earthy Peat, Grass, Charred Oak, Cigar Box, Orange, Cooked Apples, Leather, Peanut Butter, Metal, Aniseed, Cinnamon and a hint of Pork.
Middle-Long. Young, Thin and a little Hot. A mix of Sweet, Bitter and Sour notes. Quite Dry and slightly Metallic towards the end. The Smoke is more present now. I find Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Wax, Golden Syrup, Dried Fruit like Plums, Sultanas & Dates, Nuts, Smoke, Earthy Peat, Ashes, slightly Sour Red Berries/Cherries, Orange, Dark Chocolate, Charred Oak, Black Coffee or Tea, Tobacco, Leather, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Ginger, Cardamom & Aniseed.
Drinking Advice:
Added Water kills this Cigar Malt.
Rating: 7 (*******)
Nose: 7 - Taste: 7 - Finish: 6.5
*** Important Note with respect to Rating.
If the Final score is above 8 you can safely buy the whisky in question if and when it fits your Aroma/Flavor profile. If the score is between 6 and 8 you might want to try it out in the form of a sample or if offered at a good price. Anything below 6 should be left alone when you are looking for a nice sipping whisky. You might still like it of course & I realize pricing is an important item for many whisky fans especially when you are used to enjoy whisky in a cocktail or a mixed drink.
Drinking Experience Neat: Okay
Conclusion:
The Tomintoul distillery was founded in the year 1965 and was bought in 2000 by the current owners Angus Dundee Distillers who also acquired Glencadam in 2003. It is located in Ballindaloch (Banffshire), one of the highest distillery locations in Scotland. The core range currently consists a/o of the NAS Tlàth and Seiridh, the 10, 14, 16, 21 and 25 years old, the Cigar Malt and some other peated Malts like the Old Ballantruan and the Peaty Tang. The Tomintoul Malt is used in blends like Dundee and Parker's.
The Tomintoul distillery was founded in the year 1965 and was bought in 2000 by the current owners Angus Dundee Distillers who also acquired Glencadam in 2003. It is located in Ballindaloch (Banffshire), one of the highest distillery locations in Scotland. The core range currently consists a/o of the NAS Tlàth and Seiridh, the 10, 14, 16, 21 and 25 years old, the Cigar Malt and some other peated Malts like the Old Ballantruan and the Peaty Tang. The Tomintoul Malt is used in blends like Dundee and Parker's.
The Cigar Malt is a mix of classic Tomintoul Single Malt and rare peated Tomintoul Single Malt. Each of these individual Single Malts have either matured fully or were finished in Oloroso Sherry butts from Andalusia, Spain.
The Cigar Malt is a Young, Thin and slightly Hot Single Malt. It's not really bad but I really don't see this as an adequate companion for a good Cigar. It simply lacks sufficient maturation, active casks and a more adequate ABV. I'm not a regular Cigar Smoker but if I would smoke a good Cuban on a special occasion I would not pair it with this Tomintoul.
Cheers! 🥃
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