Tomatin 1992 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Central Highlands

Brand: Tomatin 1992

Type: Single Malt

Age: 20 Years

ABV: 53.9 %

Date: 29/10/2013

Colour: Light Amber/Oloroso Sherry

Nose: Quite Sweet and very Heavy on Sherry. Some Sulphur as well. I also get lots of Dried Fruits (Raisins), Red Fruits (slightly Sour Grapes and Plums), Oak, Treacle, Brown Sugar, Orange Peel, Vanilla, Buttered Toast, Light Spices and hints of Espresso and Chocolate. Can you say that a Whisky gives a tired impression? Because that's the best way to characterise the Nose of this Tomatin. A Sherry Bomb without a Bomb!

Taste: (Bitter) Sweet with Sherry, Sulphur, Dried Fruits, Red Fruit like Grapes and Plums, Caramel, Toffee, Oak, light Licorice, Espresso, Christmas Cake and Winter Spices like Cinnamon and Nutmeg.  

Finish: Bitter-Sweet and Dry towards the end with Sherry, light Sulphur, light Licorice, Treacle, Dried Fruits, Bitter Chocolate, Christmas Cake and Winter Spices. 

I added a few drops of Water and on the Nose Sherry, Red Fruit, Vanilla, Milk Chocolate and Malt take the lead. But Palate and Finish become too diluted for my taste. But this Tomatin gives you room to experiment with a couple of drops. 

Rating: 82.5  

Nose: 20.5  - Taste: 21 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

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. Today's dram was distilled on October 2, 1992 and was bottles at Cask Strength on November 14, 2012. It matured in an Oloroso Sherry Hogshead with Cask # 31497. This Tomatin is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. It was priced at around 190 US Dollars. I'm not quite sure it's still available.

Drinking Experience Neat: Regular/Good

Conclusion: A Good Sherried Single Malt should present a correct balance between the Sherry and the other Aromas and Flavours. And the Sulphur should not spoil the fun. In the case of this Tomatin however the Sherry is on the Heavy Side and the Sulphur is quite present. So while it's not really a bad dram, this Tomatin gives a bit of a tired and dusty impression. As a Christmas whisky I prefer the similar - but much better balanced Glendronach Allardice 18 years, the Aberlour A' Bunadh or the Tomatin 1976 by Mo Or.

Jan van den Ende                                                             October 2013

Glen Ord 1997 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland (North)

Brand: Glen Ord 1997 (Archives - 4th Release)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 15 Years

ABV: 54.2 %

Colour: Pale Straw/Light White Wine

Nose: I wouldn't have given this 15 years! Quite Light, Herbal and Fresh with Green Apples, Banana, Pear, Lemon-Pepper, Grass, Straw, Heather, Mint, light Licorice, Oak, Toast and Margarine, Malt, Toffee and light Smoke/Peat. The Alcohol is not yet fully integrated. It reminded me a bit of a Clynelish 1997 I tasted recently. Except for the Smoke that is.

Palate: Malt, Apples, Dried Fruits, Nuts, Citrus, Oak, Straw, Pepper, Herbs, Martini Bianco, Honey and Toffee.  

Finish: Middle-Long and Sweet actually with Sugared Biscuits, Sugared Grapefruit Peel, Pepper and some Nuts.  

A bit of added Water increases the Pepper and Licorice on the Palate. My advise is to sip this Glen Ord neat.

Rating: 81.5

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

General Remarks: The Glen Ord Distillery was founded in 1838 and is located on the Black Isle in Ross-Shire. It closed various times during its history during the World Wars. Today it's in the hands of the Diageo Group and lies at the heart of the Dewar Blends.

The 1997 we are tasting today was distilled in April 1997 and was bottled at Cask Strength in April 2012. It matured in a Hogshead with Cask # 800083 out of which 64 bottles were commercialised via the Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Archives is their relatively young own label. This Single Malt is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. It's still available at Whiskybase but only just. It costs around 80 US Dollars

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A decent Highlander without any flaws but with not too many highlights as well. Lots of Citrus on the Nose and Palate. Interesting touch of Martini on the Palate. Nevertheless I'm sure I will forget this Glen Ord quickly and I'm glad I only had a sample. This Single Malt simply lacks the Wow Factor!

Jan van den Ende                                                        October 22, 2013

Glen Garioch 1991 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Highland (Eastern)

Brand: Glen Garioch 1991 Batch 38

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 19 Years

ABV: 54.7 %

Sample Provided By: Marlie, The Netherlands. Thanks!

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Give the Glen Garioch some time to open up. It's well worth waiting for. Quite clean and crisp with lots of Malt and Cereals (Biscuits/Buttered Toast), Straw, Honey, Heather, light Smoke, Oak, Vanilla, Pear Drops, Toffee, light Spices, Lemon Peel and a hint of Espresso. A True Highlander! If I was a poet I would describe it as taking a stroll on a Dusty Highland Country Road bordered by Golden Fields of Barley. But I'm not much of a poet I'm afraid. Though I think you got the picture!

Palate: Very nice indeed. A tasty combination of Cereals, Fruit (Pear and Orange), light Smoke, Vanilla, Oak, Honey, Pepper and lots of Christmas Spices like Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

Finish: Long and Dry with Cereals, Honey, Oak, Pear, Vanilla and Spices like Nutmeg, Pepper and Cinnamon.

With a bit of Water the Nose gets more Malt and Honey. Very smooth! On the Palate the Oak gets a tad bitter and Pepper and Nutmeg come to the Front. The Finish becomes rather Spicy as well. Better sip the Glen Garioch neat!

Rating: 87.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22.5 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 22

Marlie's Bottle that produced the sample!

General Remarks: Glen Garioch is Scotland's most Easterly Distillery, located in the small town of Old Meldrum, close to Aberdeen. Glen Garioch was founded in 1797 by Thomas Simpson and is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. It was bought in 1994 by Morrison Bowmore, part of the Suntory Group from Japan. It was closed from 1995-1997 and now only produces non-peated whiskies. The Glen Garioch we are tasting today was distilled in 1991 before the take-over when the Distillery still produced lightly peated spirits. It matured in Ex-Bourbon Casks and was bottled at Cask Strength in 2010. It costs around 100 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good

Conclusion: This is a very well crafted Single Malt. It's balanced and coherent from Nose to Finish. Nice Oak and completely integrated Alcohol. The only reason it doesn't score even higher is the fact that it's quite straightforward and not overly complicated. But who said that was always necessary! Well done Glen Garioch! Look forward to try out other expressions. And thanks for the sample Marlie. Great Choice!

Jan van den Ende                                                           October 11, 2013