I am trying a Tomintoul 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky today. Tomintoul, meaning “Hillock of the Barn” is a village in the Speyside area of Scotland. At the height of 350m (1165 feet), it is one of Scotland’s highest villages. The village was laid out on a grid pattern by the 4th Duke of Gordon in 1775.
Whisky has always been a part of village life and culture. The hills that surround Tomintoul are so secluded; they were the perfect place for illicit distilling.
In 1797 already, the local minister wrote.
“Tomintoul is inhabited by 37 families, without any industry. All of them sell whisky, and all of them drink it. When disengaged from this business, the women spin yarn, kiss their inamoratos or dance to the discordant sounds of an old fiddle”.
The area surrounding Tomintoul is of astounding natural beauty. There is an array of flora and fauna specific to the region. Many of Scotland’s most endangered species are protected in the wilderness there.
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The distillery itself is a relatively recent addition to the region. Hay & Macleod and W & S Strong built Tomintoul in 1964. Currently, under Angus Dundee ownership, Tomintoul whisky distillery was acquired from Whyte and Mackay in 2000. It draws is water from the Ballantruan Spring.
The purity of the spring, and the clean air at such an altitude contribute to the smooth, easy-drinking single malt of Tomintoul; indeed, they market their Scotch as ‘the gentle dram’. The Distillery Manager, Robert Fleming, is a fourth-generation distiller, born and bred on the Glenlivet Estate.
The Tomintoul 10 year old whisky is aged in ex-bourbon casks.
Tomintoul 10 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Speyside
ABV: 43%
COLOUR: A reddish copper colour in the bottle. In the glass, it is a deep gold with slowly forming tears.
NOSE: Sweet with condensed milk and oranges. There are hints of Christmas pudding and oak. After adding some water, the oak is enhanced, and some barley notes appear. The nose hints at a gentle dram.
PALATE: Without water, the palate is spicy with notes of pepper, nutmeg and oak. A few sweet notes are floating in the background. After adding water to the Tomintoul, the orange, ‘citrusy’ notes overwhelm everything. It drowns out all the gentle oak, condensed milk and spice notes.
FINISH: Not as long as I had hoped for. It ends in, not surprisingly, notes of marmalade and a bit of spice.
RATING: GOOD
It has a medium body and has no alcohol bite. I loved the Tomintoul 16 year old whisky that I tasted during October 2014. Sadly this Tomintoul 10 year old did not deliver taste and flavour as I have hoped. After tasting the 16 year old, I was expecting a bit more from this Speyside dram.
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