On drear days you should take old Tomatin...
But let's start the story from the very beginning. Idea of this week's tasting was to take some old malts (either by age, or by bottling date) from 4 regions of Scotland pretending they are the best representatives of their regions. Speyside will be examined in a separate tasting :) so let's go:
Bladnoch 21 yo 1991 Riverstown 54.9% cask 2012-123 - the distillery was silent from 1991 till 1993, this very spirit was distilled just before that. The nose is light, flowery, distinct apples and grass. Grapefruit. Aroma is changing, after a while you get some farm bouquet: rotten straw, half-open stable, fallen apples. Palate is mineral and waxy (so Clynelish is not the only way to chew some candles) with hints of citrus and vanilla. Finish is medium-long, peppery, gingery and spicy. I'd say the finish is a bit weaker than the nose and body, though on the whole it's a beautiful lowlander, score = 88/100!
Highland Park 21 yo 1975 Signatory Vintage 43% cask 4324 – 25 - 2 shifts from HP golden standard: matured in bourbon cask which is quite rare for HP and quite low stregth despite the fact it's a single cask release. Nose: honey, flowers, some smoke which gets more obvious later in a glass. The palate is about all the nuances of heather and flower honey, should be tasted with small sips (Sergii ®). I'd like to meet the person who took decision to add water and shout "Hwy?!..". It's less complex than modern 18 yo, though in its honey and bourbon charm it's beautiful. Score = 87/100!
Port Ellen 1969 Connoisseurs Choice 40% - oh Islay, with all thy faults pros I love thee still... Nor 30 years in a miniature, nor reduced strength weren't able to crack this proud spirit down. Peat, sea, salt, seeweed, camphor - it's all present in the nose. Palate is sweet and expressive with hints of citrus, motor oil, rocks and clay. Finish is mineral with notes of liquorice and eucalyptus. I can't even imagine what it might have done with us if bottled at cask strength :) The score = 90/100!
Tomatin 40 yo 1967-2007 42.9% - whisky we laid our hopes on. Whiskybase tells us that it's a "an exceptional vatting of seven oak hogsheads, selected by our Distillery Manager, Douglas Campbell, for outstanding quality".
Colour: very strong tea.
Nose: the richest ever, set of all tropical fruits, oranges, camphor-eucalyptus-menthol, leather-saddle-cabinet-wood... ohm-m-m...
Taste & finish: you make one small sip and it explodes. The same all kinds of fruits, precious wood, even some heather and smoke (old Highland!) are rolling its waves again and again. Wow... That's how choice of right casks works.
Overall: opposed to modern Tomatins (let's say up to 18 yo) which are quite pale, the older ones from 60-s or 70-s can be astounding. I'd even say this one is on of the Last Highland Mohicans, this subtle smoke in a taste just drives me crazy...
Score: 24 24 23 23, 94/100!
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