A young trio of Tomatin to kick off 2025
Welcome to 2025. I hope you all had a fantastic New Year’s celebration. I spent a few nice days in Scotland, mainly in Edinburgh, where I blew out 44 candles. Making blogs about whisky in a time you are celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve with all kinds of drinks on the table proves quite a challenge. I wanted to finish up a blog about one of my earliest favourites in single malt whisky for my birthday. I just did not get round to it, so now this blog kicks off the new year. Enjoy!
My earliest acquaintance in single malt whisky was Tomatin. Recently, I noticed there were quite some young expressions of Tomatin available via the independent bottlers, some of them not even 10 years old. I rounded up some samples, mostly from Whiskysite who has an extensive selection available. In my drawer I found a sample from 2021 to top it off. Now, me being a fan of Tomatin does not mean I cannot be critical. Even though I do not mind a young expression from this distillery, the “youngest” I prefer is 12 years old. Maturation shorter than that can be rather rough around the edges still. Tomatin is big spirit and needs time. So, without further ado, I am very curious to see what we got on the table today.
Tomatin 2015, 8 years old, bottled at 46 % abv by James Eadie
First things first: Maturation in re-charred & first fill bourbon hogsheads, a small batch of 1205 bottles drawn from the casks 300055, 300612 and 300617.
Upon Sipping: Talkative on creamy hints of vanilla and butter, the typical mix of a decent but simple single malt whisky. On the finish we detect a nice bitterness. I am afraid this is about all I can say about this young Tomatin. It is certainly not harsh, it has no detectable flaws, but there is not much going on. As straightforward as they come, with a subdued heathery honeyed character.
Word to the Wise: A tad too simple but nothing wrong with it.
Score: 75 points.
Juniper Hill 2015, 8 years old, bottled at 55,3 % abv by Murray McDavid
First things first: Cask 9900213 produced 304 bottles of “Justino’s Madeira” matured Tomatin. Murray McDavid bottled this in their The Art of Maturation series. Justino’s is one of the oldest Madeira producers and exporters, established in 1870. The name is cleverly chosen, Juniper Hill of course being the literal translation of “Tomatin” from Gaelic.
Upon Sipping: The Madeira obviously put a firm stamp on this Tomatin with a fruity and slightly sour aroma rising from the glass. Hints of cinnamon and salted caramel. This, again, is not an overly complex whisky, but it has a bit more elegance to show compared to the James Eadie. On the taste, this Tomatin presents a familiar problem: it is too harsh because of the spirits’ youth. The sour taste that was announced on the nose prevails. With water, I like this Juniper Hill much more. It brings out more of Scotland and dials back a bit on the Portuguese influence. Breaded notes emerge, some strawberry marmalade and undefined spices. Yeah, on the taste too this changes into the Tomatin character that I like. Light hints of smoke and a strong maltiness.
Word to the Wise: A decent splash of water makes this Tomatin a good drop. You need to be a fan of exotic notes in your whisky though. Try before you buy. As far as the series name goes, this indeed showcases the influence of Madeira on whisky. A good effort by Murray McDavid.
Score: 79 points.
Tomatin 10 years old, bottled at 53,7 % abv by Cadenhead’s
First things first: Bottled for the Online Tasting Week hosted by Cadenhead’s in May 2021. A genuine pandemic whisky then? This Tomatin matured for 8 years in bourbon, before being poured into a PX cask for a 2 year sherry finish. Judging by the colour, this was a pretty invasive cask!
Upon Sipping: Now this is more rewarding! Lots of spices, ginger notes, chocolate chip cookie crumble, and some nice red fruits. A little perfumed perhaps, but all right. After some breathing the aroma turns towards caramel and loads of maple syrup. Lovely. The PX is very dominant though. The colour gave that away already, since it is as dark as a black hole in the universe. The impressions from the nose continue here, mostly on woody spices turning towards more bitter notes on the finish. Some red fruit on the taste would be nice to balance out the entire experience. Fantastic chocolate notes.
Word to the Wise: Straightforward over the top sherried whisky. Slightly lacking something extra on the palate but all in all a rewarding experience. Concluding on all three tasted samples, I would also recommend to taste young Tomatin first, it can be very tricky. Even this pressure-cooked sherry monster proves my point.
Score: 84 points.
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