Tomatin 28 1982 Single Cask

Each year I need to remind myself how old I am. I forget the year until I check my ID.

To help me, I typically ask around and find a few samples from the birth year. Then I review them around my birthday. It helps.

Tomatin 28 1982 Single Cask was released in 2011. From what I can tell, it was a special edition that they decided to release. There’s an assumption that, due to the colour of it, it’s red.

Yeah, kinda wish I had chosen something else. Not because I’m against Tomatin at all. I’ve enjoyed some of their whiskies. More so because I wish I had more to write here.

So yeah, birthday dram. Let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Highland

Distilled: 1982

Bottled: 2011

Total Bottles: 560

Cask Used: Refill Sherry Puncheon

Abv: 57%

Colour: 2.5YR 3/8

Nose: Leather, blueberry chocolate, cotton, daisy, white chocolate

If we doubted the overall colour of the scotch, then the initial blast of leather firmly places this whisky in the “It’s been in sherry for a long time and they used a proper sherry cask” area. Love the leather.

There’s a lot of fruit, floral, and chocolate going on here. It’s not super strong, save for the floral parts. Water brings out white chocolate, or as chocolate lovers sometimes call it “IT’S NOT REAL CHOCOLATE SATAN!”. Quite sweet.

Taste: Brine, prune juice, floral, taffy, rhubarb, walnut

Needs water. Very much. Initial taste is prunes, floral, and brine. At first a ton of brine, then it mellows into a ton of floral.

Water brings out taffy, rhubarb, and walnut, like some sort of farmer step-parent who’s trying to win over a child. Much in the same way, it’s seen through, though nice.

Finish: Salt water, jerky, rosewater, cocoa, pop rocks

Finish is more complex than the palate. Lots of salt at first, and then that floral/cocoa aspect takes over.

Much like the rest of the dram, flowers take over here. And some cereal/straw notes.

Conclusion: Floral notes throughout. It hits the floral elements over and over. Given time and water, more straw notes to add to the complexity, however it’s floral that you’ll take away from this.

Personally it’s an odd one. If I had to guess, it would be a single cask that an independent bottler was sold and brought out that didn’t remind you 100% of the distillery. It’s unique and an oddity. Thus it’s somewhat unique in that way.

That said, we’re talking about a 28 year old cask strength whisky. And while it’s certainly unique, and I certainly like eating flowers like Ferdinand in a bull fight, it doesn’t live up to it’s age. Given the alcohol content and amount of bottles they got from it, perhaps the cask needed the extra time to get to this point. Suffice to say it’s underwhelming for what it is.

82/100

Scotch review #786, Highland review #129, Whisky Network review #1289