Tomatin Cask Strength was released in 2015 and then swiftly rebranded into the new house style the following year. It’s a non-age statement bottling that has been matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry casks. Whilst Tomatin are pretty generous with their ABV’s across the board, this one comes in true to its name at 57.7%.
Nose: Discernibly malty and quite pronounced. Well integrated vanilla, honey, and toffee combine with a mixed fruit basket of green apples, peaches and more tropical aromas such as bananas. Maltiness is delivered through oatcakes and barley water and is joined with some earthy background notes – damp soils and wet hay. Sherry influence is kept as the supporting act rather than the main event – but, some brown sugars, raisins and spice (cinnamon and nutmeg) are still present. The addition of water introduces a wine grape-juice like aromas alongside increased definition of wood – freshly cut and sappy.
Taste: Rich and punchy. Sweeter than the nose, the palate introduces oranges, red berries, candied peels and other more overtly sherried nuances. Spicing is heightened here with both salt and particularly pepper joining cinnamon and nutmeg, but still retaining a malty and oaky core. Water reduces the initial attack and introduces greater balance to the fruit and spice combo. The texture also changes to a much more syrupy consistency.
Finish: Medium in length and highlighting both sour and sweet fruits alongside pepper spicing.
Tomatin Cask Strength is a very solid expression from the distillery. It drinks well at full strength, but a few drops of water really benefits both the nose and the palate, increasing balance and heightening the underlying fruitiness of the whisky. Fairly priced (£50.53 from Master of Malt) and very comparable to other NAS cask strength expressions from other distilleries, this is well worth a look.