Tomatin Vintage

Tomatin 19 years old, vintage 2006, bottled at 49,8 % abv by casQueteers

First things first: If I am not mistaken, the first and only Tomatin bottling by the casQueteers, a group of enthusiasts in The Netherlands bottling all kinds of beautiful single casks. This Tomatin was distilled on 10 February 2006 and aged in bourbon barrel #722 for 19 years before it was bottled on 29 July 2025. Only 139 bottles came out of the cask, and a low abv at that. 

Upon Sipping: A rather robust Tomatin to open this session with! First a layer of ozone to get through, which I think is always a funny effect in nosing of whisky. Then the fruit crawls out from underneath. All very ripe, but not exactly tropical. This Tomatin stays close to the highland roots, with grassy elements mixed with fresh pears. Somehow it all feels a bit fragile and uneasy, you better handle this dram with gloves. There is an unbalance that makes for a complex experience. With water it settles more comfortably, and you can pick out tropical notes, as one might expect from a well-aged Tomatin. Yes, indeed, with just a small drop you will find peaches and pineapple on the nose. On the palate, the opening salvo is given with a dose of barley sugar and spicy wood, before hints of peaches, liquorice wood and mint take over. The finish is decidedly tropical, and lingers pleasantly after swallowing. On repeated sipping, the tropical character remains, but it does not totally erase the more bitter notes of the cask. 

Tomatin vintage 2006, bottled at 58,5 % abv

First things first: A single oloroso cask # 2842 from the 2006 vintage that was a Distillery Exclusive hand bottled in the years 2018 and 2019 when you visited the location. Distilled on 25 May 2006. A whisky friend called me back in the day, asking if I wanted a bottle. Yes sir! 

Upon Sipping: Another 2006, but a different cask. Beautiful nose full on raisins, overripe berries and cigar leaves. Given time, it turns a bit more “December”, with chestnuts roasting atop an open fire, even some smoke, from deep roasted coffee beans perhaps. It is big and bold and over the top, and one can see why this was put in the visitor centre. It is distinctive. Tomatin can be a diamond in the rough when it is not polished by at least 20 years of maturing. One of the more complex drams in the whole spectrum of single malt, if you ask me. Some gunpowder after a while. The taste is very related to a well-aged rum, with dark sugar notes and a good hint of sulphur on the exit, like a spicy chocolate bar from a producer you are not sure you can trust. Yeah, this is extremely dangerous, thrilling stuff. Something you would like to find when you travelled all the way to the highlands for a special bottle.

Word to the Wise: Yes, a rough diamond, but it delivers joy in spades. With strong heathery hints, this Tomatin Distillery Exclusive almost feels like a sibling to Highland Park. 

Score: 87 points.

Tomatin 10 years old, vintage 2011, bottled at 59,3 % abv for D12

First things first: A more recent vintage then, a 2011, this Tomatin was distilled on 29 Januari of that year and bottled on 2 Augustus 2021. It matured in a re-charred American oak hogshead. Cask # 207 yielded exactly 299 bottles. Bottled for Drankdozijn, a discounter online retailer. 

Upon Sipping: If the re-char does not get in the way too much, this should be a very pure Tomatin. But it is a tad more creamy than I am used to from this distillery, with vanilla yoghurt and molten toffee still in a wrapper. An outspoken aroma, for sure, but also weirdly nauseating. A little bit like whipped cream left for too long in the sun on a hot summer day. And since we are writing this in December, not the direction we are looking for now (and also not in general!). The taste undiluted is very alcoholic and hot, with a creamy, sunflower oil aftertaste. Up until now, this is a trainwreck. I am guessing water is mandatory here. The nose does not change much, but the taste improves somewhat with hints of heather and bitter almond cookies. With more and more water, the heather is pronounced on the nose. We are indeed firmly rooted in the highlands with this one. The gentle side of Tomatin certainly comes out decently when reduced to, let’s say 46 % abv. 

Word to the Wise: A very a-typical Tomatin, and a bit of a surprise that this cask made it into a bottling. Only with a lot of water, some of the Highland character can be salvaged, but you need a lot of patience and luck to just hit the sweet spot of this single cask bottling.

Tomatin vintage 2001, bottled at 53,7 % abv

First things first: Back to the distillery exclusive series, with a 2001 vintage this time. This Tomatin was distilled on 30 November 2001 and spent the first 10 years on a bourbon cask. Then it was poured into a Pedro Ximenez sherry cask and after 7 years or so put into the visitor centre. There it was on display for a year, roughly. My sample was bottled by hand on 23 October 2019. 

Upon Sipping: So, almost 18 years old, and that is exactly when the highland character of Tomatin hits the sweet spot, moving into more fruity and tropical direction. But how much is clouded by the PX-cask? Well, the nose appears to be exquisite! Broad, deep, inviting red fruit aroma, with hints of leather and furniture polish. Very classical. It is mostly the sherry we pick up, not much of the Tomatin spirit, but maybe on the palate then. This was a very fruity PX-cask indeed, with an incredibly sweet arrival on the tongue, before hot spices and cigar leaves start to take over. The spirit flows very mellow and soft over the tongue, like licking silk bedsheets. The finish is then again a bit lacking punch. We will start playing with water. The nose offers even more of this old library vibe, with lots of dusty books on antique bookshelves. The sun is falling in throw the windows, and you see light dust floating in the beams of light. Also some Chinese cuisine sneaks in the glass. The palate has improved, but it is still the cask doing all the heavy lifting, and all the talking. Only after another few drops of water, a hint of tropical flavours seeps throw. Not enough to safe this Tomatin from being overpowered by PX, sadly.