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11. Tobermory (15yo, 46.3%)
Tobermory Distillery on Mull is a little gem, nestling at one end of the street of colourful houses made famous by the children's TV programme Balamory. We were on Mull for what turned out to be an awesome wedding but spent the morning before the ceremony visiting Tobermory and checking out the tartan and tat-touting stores that line the sea front.
In the distillery whisky shop I was torn between the standard non-peated Tobermory whiskies available and the lightly peated Ledaig versions produced at the same distillery. I ended up plumping for a bottle of the rather special 15yo Tobermory at £80 a bottle. Well, two bottles actually - one for me and one for the fine food and drink-loving groom.
Coincidentally, just like Blair Athol distillery below, Tobermory Distillery was also founded in 1798 and back then was known as Ledaig Distillery. It's the only distillery on the island and has been owned by Burn Stewart Distillers for the last few years.
It has a bit of a patchy history as a distillery, closing for over 40 years in 1837 before re-opening in 1890. It closed again in 1930 and stayed mothballed for the next 42 years. It opened again in 1972 but three years later, yep, you've guessed it, it closed again. Three years later it opened again, this time as Tobermory Distillery but that only lasted for four years before it shut again in 1982. Production resumed at the end of the decade then Burn Stewart stepped in with the best part of a million quid for the distillery and stocks of spirit. Happily, the distillery has been in constant production ever since.
Tasting notes, after a fashion:
For whatever it's worth, the Tobermory 15yo is absolutely beautifully presented in a very fetching box and comes complete with detailed tasting notes and some nicely done info on the maturation process. The bottle itself is also a retro stunner, reminding me of the sort of bottles John Wayne would be swigging out of by the campfire in one of his films.
The 15yo spends most of its life in Gonzalez Byass Oloroso Sherry casks on the mainland before being transported back to Mull to spend the last of its 15 years soaking up some of the subtle sea influences blowing in on the north east of the island. 'Dual-location-maturation' is what the marketers fancifully call it, neatly transforming a storage problem into a selling point, as is their wont.
The un-chillfiltered dram is a little sniff of heaven on the nose. Lots of sweet sherry as you'd expect, but delicate and layered. Some bitter-sweet stuff in there like marmalade but also some supple leather and a bit of smoke and oak, just like the tasting notes suggest. Still retains a whiff of the raw spirit too and there's some saltiness and a furniture polish chemicaliness, but in a good way, if that's possible.
Get it in the mouth and it's a big complex beast with layers of Christmas cake, toffee, spice and pepper. It's only medium bodied but the extra bang of the 46.3% abv makes itself felt and big waves of flavour and complexity wash over your tongue.
The finish flourishes and grows in waves too, nuts and spice and wee bit salty. Takes a long while to fade and it's a divine experience to wave it off as it goes.
A splash of water doesn't do the nose many favours. Knocks off all the edges that make it work, but in the mouth it makes a little more approachable and lot more soft and sweet.
It's probably a little unsubtle and inelegant to be a truly great malt, but it just works for me.
4/5
In the distillery whisky shop I was torn between the standard non-peated Tobermory whiskies available and the lightly peated Ledaig versions produced at the same distillery. I ended up plumping for a bottle of the rather special 15yo Tobermory at £80 a bottle. Well, two bottles actually - one for me and one for the fine food and drink-loving groom.
Coincidentally, just like Blair Athol distillery below, Tobermory Distillery was also founded in 1798 and back then was known as Ledaig Distillery. It's the only distillery on the island and has been owned by Burn Stewart Distillers for the last few years.
It has a bit of a patchy history as a distillery, closing for over 40 years in 1837 before re-opening in 1890. It closed again in 1930 and stayed mothballed for the next 42 years. It opened again in 1972 but three years later, yep, you've guessed it, it closed again. Three years later it opened again, this time as Tobermory Distillery but that only lasted for four years before it shut again in 1982. Production resumed at the end of the decade then Burn Stewart stepped in with the best part of a million quid for the distillery and stocks of spirit. Happily, the distillery has been in constant production ever since.
Tasting notes, after a fashion:
For whatever it's worth, the Tobermory 15yo is absolutely beautifully presented in a very fetching box and comes complete with detailed tasting notes and some nicely done info on the maturation process. The bottle itself is also a retro stunner, reminding me of the sort of bottles John Wayne would be swigging out of by the campfire in one of his films.The 15yo spends most of its life in Gonzalez Byass Oloroso Sherry casks on the mainland before being transported back to Mull to spend the last of its 15 years soaking up some of the subtle sea influences blowing in on the north east of the island. 'Dual-location-maturation' is what the marketers fancifully call it, neatly transforming a storage problem into a selling point, as is their wont.
The un-chillfiltered dram is a little sniff of heaven on the nose. Lots of sweet sherry as you'd expect, but delicate and layered. Some bitter-sweet stuff in there like marmalade but also some supple leather and a bit of smoke and oak, just like the tasting notes suggest. Still retains a whiff of the raw spirit too and there's some saltiness and a furniture polish chemicaliness, but in a good way, if that's possible.
Get it in the mouth and it's a big complex beast with layers of Christmas cake, toffee, spice and pepper. It's only medium bodied but the extra bang of the 46.3% abv makes itself felt and big waves of flavour and complexity wash over your tongue.
The finish flourishes and grows in waves too, nuts and spice and wee bit salty. Takes a long while to fade and it's a divine experience to wave it off as it goes.
A splash of water doesn't do the nose many favours. Knocks off all the edges that make it work, but in the mouth it makes a little more approachable and lot more soft and sweet.
It's probably a little unsubtle and inelegant to be a truly great malt, but it just works for me.
4/5
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