Tomatin 14Y Port Cask – A Complex Daily

 

Region	Highlands
Distillery	Tomatin
Age	14
Distillation year	2004
Bottling year	2018
Casks	Bourbon Barrel / Port Cask
ABV	46%
Coulouring ?	No
Chill-Filtered ?	No
Price	£78

INTRODUCTION

I know… 3 years without a post, and here I am coming back out of the blue, like nothing happened. I mean yes, you’ve got every right to be angry. I would be. You must be asking, where were you all this time? What happened? Well, we’ve got a lot to catch up, and I have enough material to keep you entertained for many months. In the meantime, why don’t we enjoy together a nice dram of Tomatin 14 Years Old Port Cask?

Distilled in one of my favourite regions of Scotland: the Cairngorms Tomatin 14 Years Old Port Cask is a whisky that I cherish and qualify as a “daily”. By this I mean that I do not need any special occasions to pour myself a couple centilitres from this bottle. 

The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands, and they are part of Scotland's second national park. The Cairngorms have more mountains, forests, rivers, lochs, wildlife and distilleries than you can possibly imagine. They are also home to five of the UK's six highest mountains, and 43 munros, which are mountains over 3,000 feet. The Cairngorms are a stunning and diverse landscape that offers many outdoor activities and I cannot recommend it enough for your travel list. 

INFORMATION

The Distillery

Tomatin is a distillery that has been producing whisky since 1897. It is located in the village of Tomatin, near Inverness. It is one of the highest distilleries in Scotland, at an altitude of 315 meters above sea level. It is currently owned by Takara Shuzo, a large Japanese multi-business company. Considering this and the fact that 80% of their Tomatin production goes into blends, I would understand if some of you are sceptical about their products. Nevertheless, I believe that the distillery holds up to its reputation for their unpeated, light, soft and fruity whiskies.

I visited the distillery in October 2018, and at the time I had the impression of a small, family-led distillery which was doing pretty well. The staff was very friendly and like any distillery that offers a tour, I would highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area. 

As I mention it all the time, whilst the process of making whisky is pretty much the same all the time, each distillery has their own vision and their own subtilities and I have learned something new in every single one I have visited. 

The Range

The distillery produces several different ranges of whiskies:

• The Antiquary: their range of blend whiskies
• Cù Bòcan: their experimental line of lightly peated whiskies
• And finally Tomatin: their main brand of single malts which we’ll be focusing on.

Tomatin itself has a wide range of whiskies with a core range, distillery exclusives, limited releases and a Prestige range. The 14 Year Old Port Cask is part of their core range which also includes:

• 12 Year Old Sherry Cask
• Legacy Bourbon and Virgin Oak
• 12 Year Old Bourbon and Sherry
• Cask Strength Bourbon and Sherry
• 18 Year Old Oloroso Sherry

The Bottle

A bottle of Tomatin 14 Year Old Port Cask is currently and officially priced at £78.00 but you may be able to find it online from £55.00. 

The packaging is elegant and simple, with a dark red box and a clear bottle that shows off the beautiful colour of this whisky. Shoutout to the emblem of the distillery which is one of my favourites, with the boar’s head and the two heraldic lions. 

The bottle also has subtle
engravings or rather embossing of hills, which I believe represent the highlands.

One thing that I find annoying is that we rarely see the year of bottling on core range bottles. I really wish distilleries would make an effort and add an extra line to their labels for their bottling year. The people deserve to know!!!

The Description

"Soft, smooth and sweet, benefiting from its time spent in Tawny Port casks which previously held port for around 50 years. Rich but balanced aromas of red berries, sweet honey and rich toffee develop into aspects of light fruits and nuts on the palate and an abiding finish of smooth fruit salad."

MY ANALYSIS

The Eyes

This Tomatin 14 Year Old Port Cask has a beautiful amber colour with reddish hues. It looks inviting and appetizing. 

Swirling it into my traditional Glencairn glass, the legs are slow and thick, indicating a good body and texture. This sounds promising!

The Nose

As I expected it from the tawny port casks, the nose is very fruity and sweet.

I am immediately getting notes of red berries, grapes, plums, raisins, figs and dates. 

It reminds me of my grandparents “garde-manger”, which was the room where they would store all of their homegrown fruits & vegs during the winter.  In this room, they also had their fuel tank for their central heating (something quite common in older rural French houses). 

There is also some honey, toffee, caramel and vanilla from the bourbon barrels, but these are more subtle. I can also detect some oak spice, white pepper and nutmeg. The more I am smelling this whisky, the more I realise that it is more complex than it looks, with some slight floral notes as well, maybe lavender or heather.

The Mouth 

With my senses now confused by the complexity of its profile, it’s finally time to try this bad boy. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, with a medium to full body (tending more towards full). The palate is very consistent with the nose, with more red fruits, honey, toffee and vanilla. The port casks add some wine-like acidity and a little bit tannin that balance the sweetness. Surprisingly, the oak spice is more pronounced on the palate, with some cinnamon, clove and ginger. There is also some nuttiness, maybe almonds or walnuts but I’m not sure about these.

The finish is long (looooooooong) and satisfying, with a lingering sweetness and spiciness. The red fruits fade into something more tropical. The label on the bottle mentions fruit salad, but for me, it isn't that rich. Think about the pinkish red cherry from a canned fruit salad, that’s how I would describe the finish.  The honey and toffee remain until the end, along with some oak spice and nuts.

CONCLUSION

This is a very enjoyable whisky that showcases the influence of the port casks very well and as stated earlier, it is one of my “dailys” (I don’t drink daily, I just mean that it’s a whisky for any days, which does not require a special occasion or time). It is soft, smooth and sweet, but also rich, complex and balanced. It has a lot of character and depth, without being overpowering or cloying. 

I really liked this whisky, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes fruity and sweet whiskies with some spice and nuttiness (duh!). It is one of my favourite expressions from Tomatin's core range.

This now concludes this tasting. I would just like to thank you for reading this post, please like, comment and share it if you enjoyed it. Don't forget to check my other posts and remember that you can follow me on my Instagram Page. 

And if you have tried this whisky or any other Tomatin whiskies, please let me know what you think in the comments below.

May we meet again for another tasting, ‘til the last drop.

Slàinte Mhath!