Tomatin Night

Thursday 28th Feb saw us see out our second meeting as a club and what better way to do that than putting to the test 4 whiskies from highland distiller Tomatin.

These drams were kindly provided to us direct from the distillery so a big thanks to Tomatin for their kind offerings!

We sampled their 12, 15, 18 & latest edition of their 30 yr old.
(All tasting notes are based on Andy's views with general feedback from the tasters)

• Starting with the Tomatin 12 yr old 40% -

A sherry finished whisky this had a deep rich colour.

Nose- The general consensus was that the nose on this one was leaning a little bit too far to the oaky side, with other notes including strong plastic or rubber and a hint of almonds. (On a separate note the 12 was tried again outside the club and  the nose was completely different!)

Palate- An improvement on the nose however it was said right away that this was certainly lacking in some respects. Initial hit of sweet sherry with a little spice thrown in but both faded quickly.The sweetness was that of a light yet sickly sugar syrup with the oak ever present.

Finish - As above faded quickly but there were swift glances of berried fruits and cereals.

A bit disappointing in all honesty with a couple of questions raised about consistency

• Tomatin 15 yr old - 43%

North american oak bourbon matured with a lovely light colour in the glass.

Nose - Wow what an improvement, it just goes to show what 3 years and a different wood type can do. Oodles of malt, apple peel, vanilla and honey. Some citrus there perhaps?

Palate - Not only the extra 3 yrs but the extra 3% is making the difference here compared to the 12. More fruits and malt followed by vanilla and caramel.

Finish - Quite long and warming, more malt fading out alongside honey and cream.

• Tomatin 18 yr old - 46%

We're back to the darker sherry finishes with the 18 finished in Olorosso sherry butts.

Nose - Very beefy nose, not literally beef (or horse) but very punchy indeed, lot of depth to this one. Walnuts, winter spices and sultanas. Akin to a christmas pudding mix after the brandy is added.

Palate - Fudge, dark chocolate, oak, brown toast with marmalade and seville oranges.

Finish - Again punchy but rather dry, more oak influence here with a final hint of honey.

• Tomatin 30 yr old - 46% 

Now the 30 was finished in both Bourbon and Sherry casks more akin to the 15 in colour this whisky is surprisingly light for its age!

Nose - So much more refined than the previous offerings.Well balanced interplay between light vanilla and oak with berries, greengage and demerara sugar in the background. Lovely

Palate - Again vanilla, malt, a hint of light oak not overpowering this time it actually added to the experience, and then from nowhere blackcurrants on the back of the tongue!

Finish - Long and rich, cream, delicate blossoms and vanilla

Thoughts-

Overall I think that the vast majority of members gave the 30 and 15 the thumbs up. The 12 was definitely the runt of the litter so to speak but there was definite promise in the complexity of the 18. For me the 30 was a nice surprise I was expecting heavy overpowering richness from something that age but it was extremely well balanced and a delight to drink.

There are a lot of positives from the range but the 12 for me isn't something I'd actively seek out, I think there are other drams in the same price range and age that I would choose instead. It might be worth going back to Tomatin at a later meeting and try the 25 yr old expression as a go between from the 18 & 30.

Again a big thank you to Tomatin for providing these drams

Intro's and Intrigue

Thursday 31st January saw the first meeting of the Manchester Whisky Club.

We had a strong attendance with the majority of the club's members managing making it to The Lass to sample the 5 drams on offer. These were 5 single malts representing 5 of the Scottish whisky producing regions, the Lowlands, Islands, Highlands, Speyside and Islay. These were kept a secret until the members turned up and saw what was on offer.

At 7.30 the tasting began.

Photo courtesy of Jack Brown

Lowlands - Bladnoch 10 yo

We started off in the Lowlands and to Scotland's southernmost distillery with the Bladnoch 10yo. Bladnoch is only allowed to produce 100,000 litres of the water of life a year so this was selected to give a bit of a change from the usual Lowland suspects such as Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie.

This bottling was matured in Bourbon casks for the 10 year period. This is bottled at 46% and provided a fresh and bright start to the evening.

Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose - Freshly cut hay, malt, golden syrup, elderflower cordial, and pears
Palate - Lovely light sweetness, digestive biscuits, light caramel and vanilla
Finish - Refreshing yet lingered, malty aftermath with subtle underlying hints of the previous vanilla and fruit.

The Islands - Arran 14 yo

Moving on from here we went straight into the next dram and headed across the choppy sea to one of Scotland's many surrounding islands and in this case to one of Scotland's newest distilleries. The Isle of Arran and the Arran 14. This is finished in bourbon and sherry hogsheads for the last 2 years prior to bottling and bottled at 46%


Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose - Oodles of tropical fruits and malt alongside salt and boiled sweets
Palate - Caramel, vanilla extract, greengages and gooseberries alongside more biscuity malt
Finish - Sweet and long with a salty tail

Highlands - Dalwhinnie 1992 Distillers Edition (18yo)

Moving on to the Highlands we tried and tested the Dalwhinnie 1992 Distillers edition (18yo) 43% finished in Olorosso sherry casks. Dalwhinnie is a fully functioning weather station and the distillery manager must take daily recordings of the weather!


Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose - Rich demerera sugar, heather, oak, fresh wood and cinnamon
Palate - More of the oak from the nose, nutmeg and mum's bread and butter pudding
Finish - Quite spicy with dried cranberries and baked apples

Speyside - GlenDronach 15 yo 'Revival'

Now onto the incredible whisky sweetshop that is the region of Speyside. We had the Glendronach 15 'Revival' on offer bottled at 46% and what a dram this is. Matured in Olorosso sherry casks for the full 15 years of maturation this whisky takes on a deep and rich mahogany hue.

Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose -  Heavy sherry, custard, preserved fruits, brasil nuts and christmas pudding
Palate - Brown sugar, sherry, currants, sulatana's, heavy malt, toffee, and clementine
Finish - Long and satisfying with more sherry, and hints of espresso coffee and dark chocolate.

Islay - That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Bowmore Single Cask

We finished with an Islay dram and a rather unusual one at that. This was a single cask Bowmore from Master of Malt's 'That Boutique-y Whisky Co' range. Limited to 260 bottles and bottled at a healthy cask strength of 48.7% this little 50cl beauty went down a storm before it was even tasted as the label was much talked about (see below!) . . This was matured in a sherry cask, although a NAS (no age statement) bottling this is estimated to be over 14 yrs old at least


Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose -  Wow what a beauty! Lovely sweet peat with underlying hints of pine sap and menthol, dried fruits and manuka honey
Palate - Thick mouthfeel, a sweet and seducing peat that perfectly intertwines with each other, citrus peel, honey roasted nuts and sugared Shreddies, heavy wood ever present.
Finish - The wonderfully dry yet sweet smoke comes to the fore with hints of macadamia nuts and apricot jam



I think overall the general consensus was that the Bowmore stole the show with others preferring the fruity Arran and some the other 3 so it was good to see a wide range of tastes and preferences which is what this club is all about.

It was fantastic to finally get the group together and was great to see that everyone enjoyed the drams on offer.
February's meeting will see us looking at 4 of the Highland distillery Tomatin's range