Four young indie Tamnavulin


December 27, 2024

Four young indie Tamnavulin

During the festive season, we traditionally enjoy well-known names, but we also make a point of including lesser-known distilleries—remember, one of our mottos is "little names, big whiskies", although we can’t claim to have absolute proof of that, mind you. Today, we’ll be tasting Tamnavulin from Speyside, which, unfortunately, we don’t sample very often. Over all these years, we’ve formally tasted only about thirty of them—just to give you an idea. It’s true that it has been rather quiet, albeit intermittently, and was only relaunched quite recently, in 2007.
We’ll start with some ex-bourbon, and then, I believe, we’ll have three ex-sherry casks.

Tamnavulin 10 yo 2013/2024 (55.3%, Dràm Mor, refill bourbon, cask #110915, 225 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: absolutely perfect, damp chalk, grist, green apples and sour cherries, then lemon and a hint of candle wax. With water: that fresh new jumper vibe, plus paraffin and black soap. Mouth (neat): the purity of a fresh and invigorating young malt, no frills, slightly rustic but crammed full of fruit peels and lime, the whole becoming increasingly herbal and taut. No mercy given, and none required. With water: small white and yellow fruits awaken, white currants, green pear, and pepper (green and grey) … Finish: long, herbal, almost sharp. Loads of pepper. Comments: fairly brutal, but one gladly yields to its charms. What one might call a natural wee malt, perfect for your hipflask (the one with the skull and the Indian Motorcycles logo).
SGP:361 - 84 points.

Tamnavulin 10 yo 2013/2024 (56.6%, James Eadie, UK exclusive, 1st fill Malaga hogshead, cask #373073)

Malaga! One dreams of PX seco, the great wine of Malaga in our view, rather than the thicker and sweeter concoctions (though some of those are excellent too). Colour: gold. Nose: in any case, this was a circumspect finishing, and we’re not buried under three tonnes of raisins. Quite the opposite, as apples take the lead once more, along with chalk, limestone, cake, and a few fresh walnuts lurking in the background. With water: the chalk, grist, and fresh wool return. This PX was very well-raised. Mouth (neat): there’s a touch of walnut cake, but it’s the spices that take centre stage, with green pepper and orange peel. Cinnamon mints. With water: more sherriness (or rather, malaganess) emerges, with raisins and bay leaves joining the walnuts. Finish: long, now slightly bitter. Comments: for your second hipflask (the one with the Confederate flag and the Harley Davidson logo).
SGP:361 - 84 points.

Tamnavulin 12 yo 2011/2023 (56.8%, Tri Carragh, 1st Fill PX Sherry Hogshead, 314 bottles) Tamnavulin 12 yo 2011/2023 (56.8%, Tri Carragh, 1st Fill PX Sherry Hogshead, 314 bottles)

Tamnavulin 12 yo 2011/2023 (56.8%, Tri Carragh, 1st Fill PX Sherry Hogshead, 314 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Very pale for a 1st fill PX. Nose: perhaps this was seco? Here we lean more towards paraffin, plasticine, fresh rubber, and even sulphur (in powder form, not burnt). I quite like this ‘industrial’ style. With water: we drift back towards the style of the previous dram, with fresh walnuts emerging along with citrus peels. Mouth (neat): odd, even deviant, with loads of lemon and, once again, green pepper. A prickly, almost fizzy edge (ginger tonic) and a touch of gin, even with a soapy hint. Well, I rather like it—it’s very unusual. With water: adorable ginger tonic with lemon. I won’t name the brand, as I never did receive the keys to that Dubai penthouse I was promised. Finish: long, taut like a fine cool-climate Chardonnay. The aftertaste turns more herbal and bitter (ouch, a point off there). Comments: it really feels like PX seco, bone-dry and sharp as a whip. I rather love it.
SGP:361 - 86 points.

Tamnavulin 13 yo 2010/2023 (57.6%, Connoisseurs Dram, DH Global Wine Ltd, 1st fill oloroso, cask #800768, 400 bottles)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: well then, this is the softer, more civilised ex-oloroso version, seemingly the most cake-like, with fresh kougelhopf, sponge cake, and even rum baba. In the background, oranges (marmalade and liqueur) keep watch. Lovely nose. Did I mention blueberry muffins? With water: tobacco, coffee, and walnuts, all typical of oloroso. Mouth (neat): a much more classic sherry profile, with bitter oranges on top and plenty of pepper and nutmeg. It’s powerful. With water: very good, despite a touch of saponification that makes you wait 10 minutes (as soapy notes appear and then fade) … 10 minutes… and there we have it, a splendid oloroso loaded with walnuts, mustard, pepper, tobacco, and rather dark chocolate. Finish: long and even more peppery and bitter. But the oranges keep watch, as they always do. Comments: an excellent success, though once again, it’s more of a young malt for the hipflask than for your Riedel Vinum glass (the one designed upside down, with the rims turned outward—what a strange idea!).
SGP:361 - 87 points.

Note that the four summary aromatic profiles (SGP) were identical today.

Check the index of all Tamnavulin we've tasted so far