Little Duos, today indie Tomintoul


May 3, 2024

WF's Little Duos, today indie Tomintoul

Tomintoul

Tomintoul Distillery (Tomintoul)

Isn't Tomintoul 'The Gentle Dram' becoming pretty rare these days? We'll only have two of them today, two indie bottlings, one of them being quite ancient. Rest assured that we'll always try to keep flying these little flags…

Tomintoul 16 yo 2005/2021 (57.9%, Old Master Q Series, Hong Kong Whisky, 1st fill sherry hogshead, 345 bottles)

Old Mater Q seems to be a rather famous comic character throughout Asia. Colour: gold. Nose: typical leafy sherry, with both old and green walnuts, tomato leaves, cherry stems, then a little varnish and kirschwasser, then more toasted cakes, roasted peanuts, a little curry and mustard… In fact it would never stop improving and getting more complex. Give it time. With water: walnuts, turmeric, saffron and pipe tobacco all over the place, with an amontillado-y side. Mouth (neat): really punchy, with rather more varnish, cherries, bay leaves, a little leather, some juniper, walnut wine and nocino… Well it does beg for water. With water: it got even spicier, with more juniper yet, coriander seeds and cardamom, ginger, cinnamon mints… A little toffee and fudge appearing after many minutes, together with a little burnt caramel and butterscotch. Finish: very long, tight, spicy. A little feeling of very-high-strength gin, some bitter orange in the aftertaste. Comments: very good but this is not a gentle dram. I repeat, this is not a gentle dram.
SGP:461 - 85 points.

Tomintoul 2001/2012 (53.9%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon hogshead, cask #12010, 298 bottles)

This from the older boxes. Was about time. Colour: light gold. Nose: starts with a little paraffin, lemon zests, passion fruit sherbet, some very pleasant beeswax and some kind of smoky oil. Lamp oil, perhaps. It would then become a little more herbaceous, with also some porridge and bread dough. Nice nose this far, I have to say. With water: peaches and garden bonfire this time. Burning hay. Mouth (neat): it's pretty leafy and smoky on the palate, a little sour too (more passion fruit). Rather a lot of pink pepper, grapefruit juice... With water: it's good, fruity, tropical, very moderately smoky. Peaches poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup plus a little white chocolate. Finish: medium, fruity. Always a little herbal smokiness and some passion fruit. Comments: I'm having the impression that there's a little good OBE already. It's extremely different from the 2005 but just as (very) good.
SGP:653 - 85 points.

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

Wgiskyfun 101

Enhance the joys of nosing

I would like to stress the importance of sniffing your spirits by placing your nose at the centre of the glass, as usual, but also both on the top of the opening/rim as well as the bottom, regardless of the size of your glass. Indeed, the lighter molecules rise and glide along the top of the glass, while the heavier molecules creep along the bottom. Don't miss them out! If you haven't already been doing this, give it a try, you'll see, you will gather at least twice as many aromas. Just this simple little tip will repay the incredible sum you are charged for your annual subscription at Whiskyfun ;-). De nada.