Tobermory 17 Years Review

“Tobermory-Lemon”

Country: Scotland

Region: Highland - Islands - Mull

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.

The Tobermory Distillery is located on the Hebridean Island of Mull. It was formerly named Ledaig and was founded in 1798 by John Sinclair. Nowadays it is owned by Distell Group Ltd from South Africa. 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.

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!

Jan van den Ende                                                               June 2014

Wemyss The Hive 12 Years Review

“Waxy Grapefruit”

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Wemyss The Hive

Bottler: Wemyss Malts, Edinburgh

Type: Blended Malt Whisky

Age:  12 Years

ABV:  40 %

Date: 24/04/2014

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Not extremely complicated. Please give it some time to open up. It's quite Sweet and Floral with Barley, Toast, Heather, Grass, Honey, Fruit Cake or perhaps Apple Pie with lots of Raisins. Finally I get Orange or Mandarin, Oak, light Custard, Toffee, Sherry and hints of Leather and Smoke. The Alcohol is not completely integrated.

Palate: Light and Slightly Watery Delivery. Bitter Sweet with Honey, Mandarin, Malt, Toast and Apricot Marmalade, Toffee, slightly Bitter Grapefruit Juice, Oak, Pepper and Licorice.

Finish: On the Short Side with Bitter Toasted Oak, light Honey, Wax, light Vanilla, Pepper, Nutmeg, Licorice and hints of Espresso and Aniseed.

Added Water does not improve the Hive.

Rating: 81.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Hive is part of a new range by Wemyss of Edinburgh, next to Spice King and Peat Chimney. Each represents one of the three main Scottish production areas, respectively Speyside, Highlands and Islay. The Hive is a Blend of 16 Single Malts. The heart is formed by a Speyside distillery that represents around 1/3 of the Blend. Said distillery uses a mix of Fresh and Re-Fill Ex-Sherry Casks to mature its Whisky. By the way, Wemyss is the old Gaelic word for Caves. The Whiskies for the Wemyss Blends are chosen by a Panel, chaired by the well-known whisky writer Charles MacLean. The Hive is usually sold at around 55 US Dollars. A cheaper 8 year version is also available. Wemyss did a very nice job on Packaging and Presentation!

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: I bought a miniature bottle of the Hive in the Dallas Dhu shop, just outside Forres in Morayshire. I mention this because sometimes I wonder if "special" casks are reserved for miniatures. Because I've heard some positive stories about the Hive. Which, unfortunately, I can't quite confirm. The Nose is okay although it gives away its Aromas quite reluctantly. Please give it some time in the glass. But on the Palate and in the Finish I can't find a whole lot of interesting flavours. Too much Wax and Bitter Grapefruit for my taste. If you like that, give it a try! In the meantime I look forward to try the Spice King and the Peat Chimney later this year.

Jan van den Ende                                                                 June, 2014