Tomatin 2006 10 Years Old (The Specialist’s Choice NL)

I really, really want to love Tomatin. The distillery is effing awesome, and I also very much like their philosophy. But their whisky just doesn’t quite seem to do it for me, as is the case once again with this Tomatin 2006 10 Years Old, bottled specially for the Dutch market.

Tomatin whisky is generally good, I just want it to be better, if that makes any sense?

Tomatin 2006 10 Years Old (54,5%, OB for The Specialist’s Choice NL, C#2841)

Nose: Lots of red fruits, with strawberry jam in a starring role, but cherries and raisins too. There’s a touch of oak, accompanied by grapefruit and mango. And a whiff of smoke. Quite delicious!
Taste: Syrupy and quite thick, but really drying as well. Quite oaky. Dried plums, dates. And plenty of cloves, chili pepper and ginger. A bit of sulphur. Sweet and spicy probably sums it all up. Probably too spicy. And a bit too dry as well.
Finish: Dry and long, with lingering spices.

Rating: 83

I quite like the nose, but the palate is just out of balance. It does have all the thing you’d want from a sherried whisky though. Some of ’em just a little too much.

Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.