Glen Talloch 8 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Glen Talloch 

Type: Blended Scotch Malt Whisky (Vatted Malt)

Age: 8 Years

ABV: 40 %

Date: 05/01/2013

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Soft and Rather Restrained but not Unpleasant. Nothing is really standing out. I find Light Refill Oak, Barley, Burnt Toast, Nut Shells, Raisins, Lemon Peel,  Cocoa, light Honey, light Wood Spice and Fruity Tones (Apricot/Peach). A very faint hint of Smoke. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.  

Palate: Watery Delivery with Sugared Cereals, slightly Bitter Oak, light Vanilla, light Honey, light Licorice, Cocoa, Herbs and Pepper.

Finish: Short and Sugary Sweet with Barley, light Vanilla, light Honey, slightly Bitter Oak, light Licorice, Wood Spice and Pepper.

No need to add Water to the Glen Talloch 8 years.

Rating: 76

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 18.5 - Finish: 18- Overall: 19

General Remarks: The Glen Talloch 8 Years is a Blended Malt Whisky (Vatted Malt). It contains a/o Balblair, Knockdhu and Old Pulteney and probably also  Aberfeldy, Craigellachie and Speyburn. The Glen Talloch is quite popular in the Netherlands (Boomsma) where it's one of the best selling whiskies. There are two other expressions, the Rare & Old and the 12 Years Gold, both Blends of Malt - and Grain Whiskies. The Glen Talloch 8 years is not expensive at around 25 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average

Conclusion: The Glen Talloch 8 Years starts off well enough with a light, soft and not unpleasant Nose. But on the Palate and in the Finish things go wrong in my judgement. The delivery is very Watery and Sugared Cereals, Pepper and some slightly Bitter Wood take over from there on. In a blind tasting I would certainly believe the Nose to be of a young and light Single Malt. On the Palate and Finish however this tastes like a slightly better than average Blended Scotch Whisky. Given its affordable cost, the Price/Quality ratio is reasonable, but still I would not buy a full bottle of this Blended Malt.

Jan van den Ende                                                          January 2014

Tobermory 10 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Island - Mull

Brand: Tobermory 

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 10 Years

ABV: 46.3 %

Date: 03/01/2014

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Light, Crisp, Fruity and reasonably well-balanced. I find Apple, Canned Fruit Syrup, Pear, Marzipan, Dirt Track, Lemon, Heather, Honey, Malt, Buttered Toast, Oat Meal, Caramel, Mint, Toffee, light Oak, Nut Shells, Grass, Straw, light Vegetable tones, Vanilla and Soft Spices. The Alcohol is not completely integrated. The Nose is the best part of the Tobermory 10. Much better than the old 40% 10 Years OB.

Palate: Light, mainly Sweet but also slightly Bitter with Barley-Sugar, Banana, Canned Fruit, Honey, Vanilla, Oak, Licorice, Nut Shells, Pepper and Lemon. Like with the Nose, I have the sensation of walking on a Dusty Dirt Track when tasting the Tobermory 10. It's not really unpleasant though.

Finish: Short, Waxy and a bit Ashy towards the end. I find Lemon, Herbs, Malt, Pepper, Earth, Nuts and a pinch of Salt. This is the weaker part of this Malt. 

I added a bit of Water and you get more Sweet Barley, Butter and Vanilla on the Nose. You also get some extra Fruit on the Palate. The Finish however weakens even further with added Water. You can carefully experiment with a few drops at the time. 

Rating: 81.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 20- Finish: 19.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Tobermory Distillery is located on the Hebridean Island of Mull. It was formerly named Ledaig and was founded in 1798 by John Sinclair. Today it is owned by Distell Group Ltd, South Africa that bought Burn Stewart Distillers. The Distillery produces unpeated Malt under the name Tobermory and peated Malt under the old Distillery name Ledaig. The whisky is mainly used in blends like Black Bottle and Scottish Leader. But more attention is given to their Single Malts as well. Nowadays, the Tobermory 10 Years OB is not Chill-Filtered, Naturally Coloured and is bottled at a higher than usual ABV. These are all very positive points. It is priced at around 55 US Dollars. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: I believe that Tobermory is on the right track with their standard OB 10 Years. Good ABV, Natural Colour and Non Chill-Filtration. And a very nice 

packaging and bottle as well. The Nose of the 10 Years is quite promising and much better than the old 10 Years with the 40% ABV. It's Crisp and Fruity and has a nice balance. On the Palate and in the Finish there is room for further improvement, probably via Cask Management. I will certainly follow Tobermory with great interest in the coming years! 

Jan van den Ende                                                         January 2014