Brand: Tobermory 1995 (Anam Na H-Alba - "The Soul of Scotland" series)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 17 Years
ABV: 55.2 %
Date: 27/06/2014
Sample provided by Thomas from Germany. Many Thanks!
Colour: Pale White Wine
Nose: Please give it some time to open up. My first impressions are lots of Malt and Cereals as well as Mint, Lemon, Grass, Earth, Oak, Nuts, slightly Burnt Toast with Butter and Cooked Vegetables in Salted Water. After a while I find light Vanilla, light Spices, light Toffee, light Honey and some Fruit Candies. Medium Sweet. The Alcohol is strong and not fully integrated.
Taste: Strong, Fruity and Spicy delivery with Lemon, Mandarin, Malt, Oak, light Vanilla, Nuts and White Pepper.
Finish: Middle-Long, Hot, slightly Bitter-Sweet and quite Dry in the end with some Pineapple, Pear, Lemon, Menthol, White Pepper and a sprinkle of Salt.
I added a little Water and that softens up the Nose. Quite some Lemon like in Swiss Lemonade. Some Pear as well. The Malt remains quite present. Palate and Finish do not change a lot altogether. It just becomes easier to drink this Tobermory.
Rating: 82.5
Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 20.5
General Remarks: This Tobermory 17 Years Single Cask was distilled on the 6th of June 1995 and bottled on the 31th of January 2013 by Independent Whisky bottler Anam Na H-Alba from the town of Oberhausen in Germany. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead with Cask # 698 . Only 282 bottles went to the market and I was lucky enough to get a sample. This Tobermory is non Chill-Filtered, naturally coloured and was bottled at Cask Strength. The Bottles were sold at around US$ 75 a piece.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: Considering the Flavour and Aroma profile, this Tobermory with its uncomplicated Fruity, Malty, Lemony aspects is a nice simple Summer Dram. However, I would argue that Summer Drams (Aperitifs in general) benefit from a lower ABV and less years in the Cask. Less Alcohol, less Heat and more Fruit. Nevertheless, this Tobermory-Lemon is well-crafted and I wouldn't say no if I was offered a dram!