A merry cargo of Tomatins part two


August 25, 2026

A merry cargo of Tomatins, part two

Quite a cavalcade yesterday. Good, let's try just a few more, we’ll keep the others for later…

Tomatin 8 yo 2015/2023 (46%, James Eadie, Small Batch, recharred and 1st fill bourbon hogsheads, casks # 300055, 300612, 300617, 1205 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: lovely, close to bread, barley, chalk, pear, apple and lemon, with discreet vanilla despite the pedigree. Mouth: a perfect mirror of the nose, just with a slightly more herbal side, as is common with these natural malts. Finish: quite long, carrying on from the palate, with no changes. Comments: another lovely little beastie, rather unadorned, so to speak.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Tomatin 2004/2023 (55.8%, OB, for Charles Hoffer, Switzerland, bourbon barrel, cask #40258, 248 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: very close to the previous one, just a little waxier. With water: candle wax. Mouth (neat): very lively, very lemony, very joyful, very chalky. We’re finding that blanc de noirs Champagne character again. With water: it becomes softer, now more blanc de blancs. Chalk, green apple, quince jelly… Finish: long, straightforward, fresh, pure, and still rather Champagne-like. A little aniseed. Comments: a very lovely Tomatin, ultra-classic. There really is some remarkable consistency across all these Tomatins, when there’s no sherry or very little of it, whether the malt is young or not so young.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Tomatin 7 yo 2016/2024 (59.4%, Cut Your Wolfe Loose, hogshead, 262 bottles)

We have the impression that Tomatin’s fresh and joyful character is a great source of inspiration for label designers. Now this may still be a little young… Colour: pale white wine. Nose: but this is artisanal kirsch, distilled only last year! Mind you, that doesn’t mean we don’t like it. With water: more chalk, fresh concrete, broken twigs, box-tree leaves… Mouth (neat): pear juice, agave juice, sugarcane juice, lime juice, plus something rooty, close to celery as well as, perhaps, cassava. With water: green apple in all its majesty. Finish: long and herbal. Comments: we can easily miss this kind of little creature if we don’t pay it enough attention. We need to engage in a dialogue with it, which we happily do.
SGP:461 - 85 points.

Tomatin 29 yo 1994/2023 (49.5%, Whisky Sponge, refill sherry hogshead, 190 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: this remains in line with all the others, we’re not dealing with the more exotic versions of Tomatin, but there are some very lovely notes of geranium, violet, rose, smoked tea, and a little caraway. A very beautiful nose. Mouth: we find the apple and lemon again, fruit peelings, melon skin, the whole remaining taut, lively and distinctly more herbal than on the nose. Finish: long and precise, with green walnuts, very probably from the sherry, and pepper. Comments: I find this very beautiful indeed, unusual, elegant…
SGP:552 - 88 points.

Secret Highland 42 yo 1978/2023 (43.6%, The Roots & The Antelope, refill sherry butt, cask # T30154, 221 bottles)

A little bird told me that this was most probably a Tomatin… Colour: gold. Nose: and there we are, pink banana, mango, papaya, passion fruit and hibiscus. Light touches of very ripe fig. Nothing to add at this stage. Mouth: just one concern, has the wood started to dominate the hyper-exotic distillate? The answer is no, or barely, with just a little slightly over-brewed black tea. Nothing dramatic, the whole remains balanced and rather wonderful. Mango, pink grapefruit etc… Finish: same. Lovely notes of rosehip tea and a little cinnamon. Comments: those Tomatins from the 1960s and 1970s really were something else.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Tomatin 10 yo 2014/2025 (53%, Decadent Drams, 2nd fill oloroso hogshead, 285 bottles)

With another amusing nod to the past, there’s even a mention of proof degrees. Colour: full gold. Nose: the sherry is more present here, walnut cake, chocolate, cumin, a little black earth, dead leaves, fir honey… With water: … and nutmeg. Mouth (neat): back to citrus, Jaffa cakes, orange marmalade, black pepper… With water: it relaxes further, with verbena, then nocino, various peppers… Finish: long and more bitter. Very lovely bitters, mind you, we’re even thinking amontillado rather than oloroso. Comments: pretty superb ten-year-old bottle…
SGP:361 - 87 points.

Come on, one last one, no doubt more extrovert and extravagant…

Tomatin 13 yo 2012/2025 (58%, OB, for Singapore 60th Anniversary, matured in cabernet sauvignon barrique, cask #43854, 278 bottles)

I do believe this was full maturation in cabernet, but there’s nothing to say it was Bordeaux and/or French oak… Colour: dark reddish amber. Nose: smoked ham, shoe polish, bitter orange, red and yellow peppers, green walnuts. Perhaps a wee bit too much at this stage. With water: aubergine, artichoke, pepper. In other words, cabernet sauvignon without most of its fruitiness. Mouth (neat): I find it works better on the palate, although that blackcurrant and pepper character is still rather invasive. With water: now it relaxes, with cherry, blackcurrant, pink peppercorns, praline, tomato, even black olives… Finish: long, better yet, more balanced and coherent, despite the very vinous character that remains. Comments: for me, it just kept improving. A coherence that’s not so often found in these slightly unnatural love affairs between red wine and malt whisky.
SGP:461 - 85 points.

OK, one proper very last one, something a little weird…

Strathdearn ‘Fruity & Spicy’ (44.5%, Murray McDavid, Cask Craft Series, oloroso sherry finish, 2022)

An NAS finished in sherry, let’s proceed with caution. By the way, I had mistakenly filed this baby with the few Strathearns we’re having in the current pipeline, but it is indeed Strathdearn, a surprising trade name for Tomatin. Colour: gold. Nose: this is rather lovely, with toasted hazelnuts and praline. Which, we agree, is more or less the same thing. Nutella and apricot and mirabelle jams, then a slightly smoky, basaltic side, a touch sulphury, but not excessively so. Mouth: it’s good, malty, with brown and amber ales, praline again, and a little Bailey’s side. Remember Bailey’s Irish Cream? Finish: medium in length but very pleasant, with walnut and orange cookies. The aftertaste is more peppery and on coffee. Comments: this is rather well composed, without a doubt.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

We really are stopping now. That makes twenty-six Tomatins in two days, which is more than enough, right!?

Check the index of all Tomatin we've tasted