Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Brand: Tomintoul Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 40 %
Colour: Golden/Light Amber
Nose: I'm struggling a bit with the Nose of this Tomintoul. I get the Sherry notes for sure together with a very light impression of Sulphur. And some familiar stuff like Hay, Oak, Malt, Toffee, Lemon Zest and Dried Fruits. Some Floral tones as well. And I also get a pair of completely different flavour sensations from time to time. Mind you, I have nosed this dram for more than 60 minutes. Sometimes I am sitting at a breakfast table with Toast, Breakfast Cereals and Orange - and Apple Juice. And sometimes I get Oriental impressions such as Cardamom, Ginger and Soy Sauce. It's like Yin and Yang.The Nose is interesting enough but I can't say I find it extremely appealing.
Palate: Slightly Watery Delivery. I find Pralines, Sherry, Red Fruit, Malt, Toffee and Spices like Cardamom, Nutmeg, Ginger and Pepper.
Finish: Middle-Long with very recognisable Wine Gums (mostly the Red ones) as well as Sherry, Barley Sugar, Pepper, Orange, Oak and hints of Chocolate and Cardamom.
I added a bit of water and you get a bit more Fruit, Blossom, Toffee and Malt on the Nose. Palate and Finish are just washed down. The whisky does get a bit more smooth with water.
Rating: 82.5
Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5
General Remarks:
This distillery only started its operations in 1964 and released its first Single Malt only in 1973. Its nickname is The Gentle Dram. The distillery is located close to the river Avon, some 13 kilometres outside the village of Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands. Since 2000 the distillery is owned by Angus Dundee Distillers PLC, London. The whisky I'm tasting today is a so called Limited Edition. Limited quantities of regular Tomintoul 12 distilled in the autumn of 1995 were transferred to Oloroso Sherry Casks in January 2006 to finish maturation in order to enhance the whisky with some Sherry sweetness. The first bottles of this expression were presented to the market in October 2007. It costs around 50 US Dollars.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: Pfff, difficult this one. I don't think this is a bad dram. The Sherry is well integrated and does not dominate anywhere. But I simply don't manage to connect with this Whisky. I don't hear what it wants to say to me and, believe me, I've listened long enough. I've had the 10 Years before Tomintoul 10 and although I scored that a tad higher I did notice the absence of some Sherry Notes. That's of course not the case here. When comparing the two I did not find the regular 10 to be better but I did think it to be ever so slightly more appealing. In any case the two expressions were not able to turn me into a big fan of this distillery. Maybe the 16 and/or 33 Years, that I will review later on, can do that trick.
Jan van den Ende February 5, 2013
