During June 2020, I tasted the Ledaig 10 year old whisky, and today I tried the unpeated Tobermory 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The Tobermory is the unpeated release from the distillery.
The Tobermory distillery is situated on the island of Mull. John Sinclair founded the distillery in 1798 as Ledaig distillery, and is the only distillery on Mull.
The distillery is currently owned by Burn Stewart Distillers, a subsidiary of Distell Group Limited of South Africa. Tobermory spirit is used in the Scottish Leader and Black Bottle blended whisky. The peated release is named after the former name, Ledaig.
The water comes from a private loch near the Mishnish lochs. The water has some peaty phenols that give Tobermory a slightly phenolic character.
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The malted barley is shipped in from the Port Ellen maltings, and Tobermory has only a little storage space, so the casks are stored at Deanston Distillery near Doune.
The Tobermory core range includes a 12 year old and an 18 year old release as well as the Sinclair series, the first of which is the Rioja Cask Finish. There is also various independent bottlings and even a gin available.
The Tobermory single malt is distilled from unpeated malted barley and matured in oak casks for at least ten years. It is non-chill-filtered and without artificial colouring.
Tobermory 10 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Island whisky
ABV: 46.3%
COLOUR: Light gold
NOSE: Green notes and fresh flowers. Hints of black pepper, cereal, winter spice and light oak. Not a lot of fruit or sweetness. Bits of mint.
PALATE: Malt, drying oak, black pepper and light herbal notes. Bits of ginger and cinnamon with hints of lemon peel. Medium-bodied. Not a lot of sweetness. Faint honey notes in the background. Water brings more pepper to the front and makes the soft honey notes disappear. Rather one dimensional.
FINISH: Black pepper, lemon peel and oak. Drying and spicy.
RATING: GOOD
The Tobermory 10 year old Scotch whisky reminds me of the Glenglassaugh Evolution. Both have similar drying oak and pepper notes. It is a bit too spicy for my sweet palate. I prefer whisky with more sweetness and fruity notes. Sadly, there was no fruity sweetness or complexity in the Tobermory.
Comparing it to the Ledaig, I liked the Ledaig a lot more. The Ledaig 10 year old was all peat and green with sweet hints. More complex and drinkable when compared to the Tobermory.
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