Some more Tormore


August 12, 2025

Some more Tormore

Seager Evans’s distillery, built in 1958–1959, was, as R.J.S.S. McDowall wrote at the time, “such a change from the many drab places which exist, a breakaway indeed from the almost studied careless shabbiness of the Speyside distilleries.” Quite so. The current ‘new’ owners, Elixir Distillers, have not yet released any spirit they’ve distilled themselves, but they have already offered some interesting ‘semi-official’ bottlings from existing stocks, such as this one…

Tormore 10 yo ‘Toasted Barrels’ (48%, OB, Blueprint Cask Program, 1,500 bottles, 2025)

The ‘replica’ wave shows no sign of retreating, and this design strongly evokes the old official Tormores from the 1970s. You’ll say those were excellent!... Toasted casks are a different breed from the usual charred ones typically used for whisky, but a strong toast will also leave its mark on the contents, leaning towards coffee yet with fewer tannins. Colour: straw. Nose: for the moment we’re on mineral and citrusy tension, which brings to mind some young Pulteneys we’ve just sampled. It’s fresh, with a fatty side on the nose (sunflower oil, green banana, peanut butter) but, thank goodness, there’s no avalanche of coconut and vanilla in sight. A few dandelion petals fluttering in the background. Mouth: there’s a distinctly spicy and resinous edge here, one wonders whether it’s European oak—or even Mizunara? Also heaps of maquis honey with a punchy character, and a definite juniper note that’ll have you sailing straight across the North Sea to Holland. Let’s not forget the speculoos, which are also quite dominant. All in all, it comes across as more of a blend component, and in fact that’s exactly what it is, the future ‘new’ Tormores won’t be flying solo in this particular style. Finish: hints of mint liqueur and turmeric. Comments: very unusual and leaning more towards the spirit of some young Germanic distilleries, I’d say. That said, it’s very well executed.
SGP:561 - 85 points.

Tormore 13 yo 2011/2024 (54.3%, The Whisky Cask Company, oloroso finish, 221 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: of course, a finish is not quite the same as full maturation in second-fill, but sometimes you get awfully close, and that seems to be the case here. Lovely toffee, dunnage, old bodega butt from Jerez, coffee, the inevitable slightly singed walnut cake… With water: plumes of pipe tobacco. Haven’t puffed one in ages, barring a borrowed pipe from our friend Max last year, but still adore the aroma. Mouth (neat): opens with orange marmalade laced with ginger and pepper, then moves into wildflower honey (nothing from large-scale agriculture), before circling back to toffee and fudgy caramel. I find this very good and rather successful. With water: classic sherried whisky territory, textbook stuff really, and without the slightest fault—no spent matches, no truffle, no town gas, no cabbage soup. Finish: same again, very good, creamy, orange, caramel and fudge. The pepper makes a welcome comeback on the aftertaste. Comments: very well done, TWCC.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Perhaps a few older Tormores?...

Tormore 33 yo 1990/2023 (49.8%, Brave New Spirits, Cask Masters, 190 bottles, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #1989)

Colour: gold. Nose: oh yes indeed, this has a lovely fatness right from the start—fresh butter and sesame oil, glorious notes of freshly snipped greenery, then clementines and a whole basket of apples. Add a few floral touches and you’re looking at a nose that’s supremely elegant and rather classic. Mouth: brilliant, perhaps teetering on the edge of coconut macaron overload, but it’s so well balanced here that it becomes utterly charming. Flower jelly, green tea, candied sugar, and once again that overflowing basket of apples, plums, pears, peaches, greengages, apricots, and… (S., we get the point). Finish: medium in length, once more nicely fatty, with a touch of pistachio oil and some orange. The orange cleverly keeps the coconut in check, which is no small achievement, mind you. Comments: a beautiful ‘young old’ malt, with the layered complexity of age and the sprightly brightness of youth. You see what I mean…
SGP:641 - 90 points.

Tormore 31 yo 1992/2024 ‘For Mankind’ (45.4%, The Whisky Barrel, Apollo 11 55th anniversary, 1st fill oloroso sherry hogshead, cask #1036, 263 bottles)

I fear humanity may be in need of more than a fine whisky and a trip to the moon in these trying times. Colour: deep gold. Nose: that lovely fatness returns straight away, but here it shifts quickly toward dark turrón and maple syrup, kougelhopf, and damp forest floor after a summer rain. There are whiffs of basalt too, though the question is whether they’ll carry over to the palate, which could be slightly awkward. Let’s see… Mouth: not at all, it’s a precise oloroso profile, led by both old and green walnut, then cocoa and dark tobacco. Bone-dry like a great oloroso, it deserves nothing but applause. Finish: ah, now the fruits arrive, in a bit of a chaotic stampede. The faintest brush of black truffle and saltpetre. Comments: the perfect counterpoint to the 1990. Give it a little time and, despite the relatively low strength, a drop of water to ‘stir up the fruits’.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Tormore 33 yo 1992/2025 (53.7%, Whiskyland, chapter 12, 157 bottles)

The label rather brings to mind the old film ‘The Wicker Man’, doesn’t it? Perhaps this is a whisky intended for certain wild rituals in the far northern reaches of Scotland, let’s see. Colour: straw. Nose: well now, it’s the same—or nearly—as the 1990, only a touch more refined, but conversely a little less fruity. A bit more on perfectly ripe baby banana, and absolutely no trace of coconut, so none of that ‘Scottish piña colada’ effect here. You see what I mean. With water: we’re setting course for minerality and mirabelle plums. Very lovely, fresh, elegant, easy-going, well-balanced. Since it’s just us here, it rather brings to mind those old Benriachs from the 1970s. Mouth (neat): rich, fruity, and spot on. Fruit salad with honey and olive oil, oranges of every variety, and a very welcome touch of salt. I do think we don’t mention salinity often enough when it comes to mouthfeel in malt whisky. With water: the citrus takes centre stage now. Very fine indeed. Finish: ultra-classic, fresh and fruity, with loads of small, slightly fatty components that remain eminently elegant. Comments: what a trio these three older Tormores have made!
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Tormore we've tasted