WhiskyFest Chicago report: Tomatin breaks out
April 7th, 2008WhiskyFest Chicago was this past Friday. One of the distilleries that impressed me was Tomatin.
Tomatin here in the U.S. has always been one of those quiet whiskies lurking in the background. If you were lucky to find a bottle, it would be the pleasant, but not overly inspiring, 12 year old.
That all changed the night of WhiskyFest, when the distillery brought two new line extensions for the U.S. (an 18 and 25 year old) along with a couple of vintage bottlings not available here in the U.S. tucked under the table.
After tasting them all, I felt that the sweet spot among the 12, 18 and 25 year old whiskies was the 18 year old. The 12 and 18 year old are finished in sherry casks, while the 25 is aged entirely in ex-bourbon wood. All three were nice (with the 25 showing a little wood). But, the balance of the wood, sherry, and spirit of the 18 was extraordinary.
The two vintages secretly poured (1976 and 1967) also did not disappoint. The ‘76 was finished in sherry casks while the ‘67 was pure ex-bourbon. Just like the three age-statement whiskies, I liked the balance and complexity that the sherry imparted to the 1976 vintage.
Fortunately for us, we can expect to see more of Tomatin (and its line extensions) in the future.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
“The ‘76 was finished in sherry casks while the ‘76 was pure ex-bourbon.”
I assume the first reference was in fact to the ‘67?
April 12th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Actually, the ‘76 was finished in sherry; the ‘67 was straight ex-bourbon. Thanks for catching that. I corrected it.