Highlands distilleries week continues with another bourbon cask, time from Tomatin. This was also not a cask available broadly, though it was available to the public. I don’t mean to be mysterious: while Monday’s Ben Nevis was a private cask bottling, this one was one of five casks available for hand-filling when I visited the distillery in June of 2018 (see here for my account of the excellent tour my family took of the distillery). I had purchased a similar bourbon cask the previous summer as well; and since I’d liked that one a lot, there was no doubt that I was going to get another. As it happens, I filled the PX cask as well alongside this one. I’ve reviewed that PX bottle previously—only a few months after purchase. Why I waited more than five years to open this one, I cannot tell you, except that I have a stupid amount of whisky on my shelves and often lose track of bottles. Anyway, I opened this a few nights ago and have very much enjoyed my first pours of it. Now that it’s had a few days to breathe in the open bottle, here are my notes.
Tomatin 11, 2006 (58.5%; bourbon cask 4182; from my own bottle)
Nose: Tart-sweet apple, pear, honey and some prickly oak lead the way in a juicy, refreshing start. The oak picks up some polish as it sits and there’s just a bit of wood glue as well. After a few minutes there’s some muskier fruit in the mix: makrut lime, stewed pineapple. With more time there’s a lot more pear. With a few drops of water there’s some berries mixed in with the lime.
Palate: Comes in as indicated by the nose but with a bit more of the oak and then more citrus as I swallow. Very approachable at full strength with oily texture. Continues in this general vein with more fruit emerging here as well as it sits. With water the oak recedes a bit and there’s more citrus.
Finish: Long. The oak gets spicier as it goes but otherwise as on the palate. As on the palate with water as well.
Comments: This is very nice already but I look forward to seeing how it develops with more air in the bottle. I’d guess the fruit will expand further—there’s already more of it than there was in the first pour. I’ll try to remember to report back.
Rating: 87 points.