Official Releases (plus two bonus reviews) | 46% ABV

Relationships

Whisky is often about deeply rooted, long-term relationships. Obviously this applies to any distillery striving to build an invested, loyal fanbase, assuring itself of a steady and reliable group of faithful, returning customers.

Some of them (likely those with a fairly extensive marketing department at their disposal) have managed to do so quite successfully. Over the years, Laphroaig has developed the Friends of Laphroaig, Ardbeg has built its Committee, Highland Park’s got their Inner Circle and so on. In fact most, if not all distilleries, offering some sort of core range, employ means of building a customer relationship, such as newsletters, some sort of subscription service, an online store, ballot entries and pre-order services.

Less officially endorsed, both online and offline, there’s a plethora of dedicated groups out there who are keeping their finger on the pulse when it comes to their favourite distillery. It’s All About Springbank (IAAS) on Facebook is probably one of the most well-known semi-official whisky fan clubs out there, but there are plenty of other appreciation societies to be found as well. More often than not, these community-driven groups are run by enthusiasts relying on the power of digital and online media to reach out and connect with like-minded people. Not entirely unlike this merry bunch right here, for that matter.

But what about those distilleries that don’t have a six digit number to blow annually on PR and marketing? Or those distilleries less ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ or with just less of a dedicated - dare I say ‘cult’ - following? IAAS has more than 8000 followers on Facebook alone, friends of Bruichladdich has more than 10k. The Friends of Laphroaig even more than 30k. Lindores, one of the new kids on the block, is just shy of 600 ‘friends’. The Tomatin and Cu Bocan Appreciation Society: 405 members as I type this.

Is this about to get relevant soon, Earie?

I’d like to think so. Because I feel it’s symptomatic of what Tomatin are about. Rather than aiming to be welcomed in the inner circle of stardom whisky brands, they seem to take a more thoughtful, discrete approach to bringing you their product. And rather than splashing hundreds of thousands of pounds on clever marketing intended to create a hype, they are spending their resources elsewhere.

This may partially explain why you can pick up a bottle of 18 year old Tomatin for about £75, whereas you’ll be paying 2.5 times that amount for a bottle of 19 year old Ardbeg. And for the record, I’m not having a cheap go at the likes of Ardbeg, I’m just trying to paint a picture on how I see things. Because all the more power to them. When you think about whisky brands, you’ll likely think about any of the abovementioned ‘cool kids’ first, rather than Glen Elgin, Aultmore or, indeed, Tomatin. Which, as such, doesn’t say anything about the actual quality of the whisky obviously. Because after all, for every Bono claiming centre stage and stealing the show, there also has to be a Larry Mullen doing his own thing, working hard in the background, rarely taking much credit but very much keeping it real while also delivering the goods.

Behind the scenes, whisky relies heavily on well-established, long-term agreements and arrangements. I’m not just talking about the relationship between distilleries and brokers or bottlers, or the fact many are doing business with other distilleries who should strictly speaking be considered their competitors. Not every distillery has its own bottling plant, cooperage or malting facilities at their disposal. I’m hinting at a more international level. Because bend it, toast it or char it any way you like, without good quality casks, there simply is no good quality whisky.

Even when you insist that nothing beats a 15 year old malt which was matured in second-fill bourbon casks, it would still take some pretty rock solid casks to begin with if you want to get anything out of your refill matured malt. Seeing how the use of local, Scottish oak in the whisky industry is still very much at an experimental stage, whisky, especially scotch whisky, is very much an international product. It’s an interesting paradox, really.

In recent years we’ve seen so much emphasis being put on terms like ‘provenance’, ‘locality’, ‘short chain’, ‘community’ and whisky and Scotland are of course all the better for it. On the other hand, at any given time there are more than 20 million casks containing what is or what is to become whisky in Scotland. That’s a lot of booze. The origins of those casks lay anywhere but in Scotland, mostly the US and continental Europe.

And if you’re to believe all the recent cask investments schemes (don’t, by the way), a good quality oak cask is worth its weight in gold. Witnessing the current boom in the industry, it stands to reason that the demand - and therefore the prices - for top quality casks is higher than ever, and therefore having a solid, reliable and continuous access to good casks is vital to any distillery. Cutting out as many middlemen as possible, significantly helps to save costs, but it also means investing in long-distance, long-term relationships. Mutual trust and respect lie at the heart and centre of these. And where there’s trust and respect, relationships tend to go beyond the mere business side of things. Not necessarily developing into actual friendships, but something resembling that in any case. And that somewhat tells the story of Tomatin’s Portuguese collection.

After the French Collection from 2021 (I still can’t read or say that without imagining Gene Hackman in a car chase in New York) the Portuguese Collection is the second of Tomatin’s annual, limited Collection releases from 2022. All released as 15 year old whisky, initially the new-make was laid to rest in bourbon casks before getting a second maturation for a period of seven years in different Portuguese casks previously used for ageing madeira, port and moscatel wine.

A while ago I had the chance to take part in an online tasting held by Seb Kracun from House of Scotch, focusing on these releases. Joining us were Scott Adamson, global brand ambassador and blender for Tomatin, and Jose Mesquita. The former likely needs little introduction as he’s a well-known and much appreciated ambassador in the true sense of the word, not just for Tomatin, but for whisky in general.

Mesquita, however, might not be a household name to many, despite the man being involved in whisky for more than five decades. Initially working with J&B and UDV in the early 1970s as a sales ambassador for the Portuguese market, he later became involved with the Antiquary brand - then owned by DCL, which in turn had merged with UDV. When the Antiquary brand was sold on again in 1996 to Japanese company Takara Shuzo, who 10 years prior also bought Tomatin, Mesquita joined forces with Tomatin shortly after. With a lifelong experience in the Portuguese wine and spirit business, he was the right man in the right place to help Tomatin select casks for this series. So despite the term Portuguese Collection, it’s safe to say that after more than 20 years of partnership, it’s also, and very much a Portuguese Connection.

To make things even more interesting, these three releases are from sister casks, as all were initially filled with new-make spirit on the same date; September 8th, 2006 and then moved in the different Portuguese casks on April 23rd, 2015, to be finally bottled on May 9th, 2022.

To complete the line up, we also tasted a 15yo Tomatin matured fully in Refill American Oak casks – a travel retail expression which will be discontinued but which comes in very handy as a frame of reference. Furthermore there was a 14 yo indie from Thompson brothers finished in cognac casks.

We finished this session with another interesting whisky; the first ever age stated Cù Bòcan, a 15yo matured exclusively in oloroso sherry casks.

Review 1/5

Tomatin 15yo American Oak Casks. Travel Retail Exclusive, 46% ABV
~£40, still available but discontinued.

Score: 5/10

**Average. In a good way.**
***TL;DR***
*A decent benchmark, but lacks something.*

Nose

Like opening a bag of vanilla sticks. That mixture of soft vanilla spice and light sweetness is a giveaway as to what casks were involved. Quite a lot of citrus in there as well – 50/50 on lemons and oranges, making for a slightly fruity-sourness to sit against the vanilla sweetness. Behind those lie notes of apples and pears, granulated sugar, honey and herbaceous notes of grass, thyme and sage. With some water, those herbal notes become more prominent. Overall it’s light, delicate and subtle.

Palate

Initially less sweetness going around on the arrival. It’s a bit nippy in fact. On the tongue the refill bourbon casks have less of an impact, as it’s still quite grainy and spirit driven. Which isn’t a bad thing as such. Again, there’s a subtle herbal element going on and a soft sweetness with a drying, clinging texture, accentuated further after some added water before going int a dry, woody, medium long finish.

The Dregs

Decent, yet perhaps a bit too shy? I mean, Tomatin is a fairly recognisable spirit in its own right, so I understand why one would be cautious to let it sit in very active casks. Those refill bourbon casks however might just come up a tad short to make this truly engaging. It’s not boring by any means, but after a rather pleasant nose, it didn’t develop into something particularly exciting either.

Review 2/5

Tomatin 15yo, The Port Edition, Refill bourbon casks and Tawny Port casks (from the Symington winery), natural colour, un-chillfiltered, 46% ABV
£85~£90, still available.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Unsure if it’s worth the extra over the 14yo Tomatin Portwood*

Nose

Some citrus notes, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. Classic port cask notes from berries and red fruit are banging on the door, mixed in with milk chocolate and a soft peppery spice note. Strawberry and raspberry jam. Still quite a bit of influence from the bourbon casks, on which the port casks are building. As it should be.

Palate

Fizzy-effervescence on arrival. A herbaceous- rhubarb like note - something I often pick up in port cask matured whisky. Again the citrus. Soft notes of white pepper, soft leather and wood, making for a medium full, leathery and woody mouthfeel.

The Dregs

Very decent, well balanced and overall a no nonsense and uncomplicated whisky. I should have put it head to head with the core range 14 yo port wood, which I enjoy, if only to see which one would come out on top. It would be a tight call I reckon.

Review 3/5

Tomatin 15yo, The Moscatel Edition. Refill bourbon casks and Moscatel Setubal casks, natural colour, un-chillfiltered, 46% ABV
£85~£90, still available.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Lovely development, going full circle*

Nose

The wine influence is noticeable immediately, mixed in with a whiff of chocolate and some clove and sage. A red peppery note too and over time, the wine notes grow even stronger developing into a pink cotton candy sweetness.

Palate

Quite the interesting development. It starts round, almost big and sweet on cherry, chocolate and berries on arrival. Mid-palate a herbaceous note jumps in and takes over, making for a sage and parsley driven freshness. It then evolves again with a bitter chocolate note before going full circle, returning to that peppery-herbal note in the finish.

The Dregs

In terms of development and complexity, this is a step up compared to the port cask matured expression, with a significantly stronger mark made by the moscatel casks. Still, that delicate Tomatin spirit character remains intact, making it if not a spectacular whisky, then at least a very interesting and busy one. A whisky with a sensory tail to tell. And a good one, at that.

Review 4/5

Tomatin 15yo, The Madeira Edition. Refill bourbon casks and Madeira casks (from Blandy’s), natural colour, un-chillfiltered, 46% ABV
£85~£90, still available.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Guaranteed crowd pleaser material*

Nose

Oily, vanilla and chocolate, confectionary sweetness transferring not a peppery sweetness with lemon custard cake to top things off.

Palate

A great mixture of bittersweet notes: dark chocolate, ginger and pepper and burnt/roasted notes of coffee, nuts, caramel with a pinch of salt lingering on in the finish.

The Dregs

This is the richest and most outspoken one of the three here by far. A safe bet when you’re looking for a crowd pleaser. This is ticking all of the boxes of a whisky delivering distinctive notes which may seem perhaps a bit counterintuitive at first, but are working together very well in delivering something very enjoyable.

Review 5/5 (Bonus Review)

Tomatin 14yo, Thompson Bros, (2008-2022), Hogshead finished 27 months in a cognac barrique , 490 bottles, natural colour, un-chillfiltered, 50% ABV
£75 limited availability.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Tomatin goes Campbeltown?*

Nose

Citrus, grassy and hay, going into a farmyard note, verging towards a bit of dirtiness even. Quite surprising. A tad meaty-cheesy. Given time, it mellows out, allowing space for lactic and honey notes to shine through.

Palate

The nose translates on to the palate. A bit hot and peppery from the ABV. A full mouthfeel, slightly viscous. A hint of funk, again with that hard cheese and meaty note, before a long and lingering finish driven by dried oak.

The Dregs

If it didn’t clearly say Tomatin on the label, I’d have easily believed this was a Kilkerran. Seemingly this is getting some flack and mixed reviews, and if you’re all looking for ‘the softer side of the Highlands’, I can see why. I also think it’s rather unfair. A typical Tomatin this certainly is not, but I really like this and it’s interesting to say the least. Perhaps a bit hot and peppery, but that doesn’t take away much from this beauty.

The Last Dregs

The Portuguese Collection, in the way they create it - distilled, matured and then re-casked on the exact same dates - really showcases the versatility of different cask influences. All three are good examples of how to find the right balance between spirit character and wood influence.

I’m fairly certain that for the moscatel and the madeira expressions, I could be leaning more towards a 7/10 if I was to spend a bit more time with them. They are indeed the two that most tickled my fancy with a clear and distinctive character. I will argue that the price tags of all three are stretching it a bit, so that needs to be considered here. I understand why limited releases come with an extra cost, but if we look at the port cask matured for instance, I fear that in terms of intrinsic quality and experience, it might struggle to merit almost double the RRP for the core range 14 yo.

Overall, all three of the Portuguese collection really show what Tomatin are about: good, decent all-rounders, making almost for a blueprint of what whisky is.

The indie Tomatin therefore was such a surprise, miles away from what you'd associate Tomatin to be. I feel it’s also a very interesting release, as it reveals a totally different side to what it can be. The fact that the Thompson Brothers release is so utterly different, only adds to the pleasure, proving there’s always exceptions to the rule.

Not aiming for the wow-factor or the spectacular approach, but instead focusing on finding the balance between spirit and wood is where Tomatin is at, in my opinion. Which is an often quite delicate and subtle endeavour, making for an equally delicate, soft-natured experience.

In being so understated, Tomatin manages to stand-out from quite a few others and it’s likely one of the things I appreciate most about the distillery. Sometimes though, I can’t help but feel it’s almost a pity they don’t make more of a fuss about what they do.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EA

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