Tomatin Decades

This is my first review- since weeks I am thinking about the right bottle which is appropriate for this kind of purpose; now I decided to just give the latest bottle which I bought the other day a go and this Whisky is a special bottling from Tomatin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their current Master Distiller, Douglas Campell. He selected casks from each decade (1967 Shery hoggie; 1976 Sherry butt; 1984 Sherry hoggie, 1990 bourbon barrel and a 2005 bourbon barrel) to create this special Whisky.

nose: sweet and fatty like a rich shortbread dough with lots of butter and vanilla. After the tingling sweetness I can get lots of freshly cut ripe apples, pears and the obvious raisins from the sherrycasks - along these fruits there is ginger and some oak; even a tiny bit of smoke - I like it.

palate: this is rich and creamy with malty and intense exotic fruits: pineapples, peaches, some peppered papaya. The mouthfeel is smooth and oily with a hint of bitterness from the oak.

finish: dry and long finish with papaya again; nuts and spices - lovely Whisky.

First of all this is good Whisky but it doesn´t leave me completely satisfied - in the beginning I thought this is best of both worlds: young and powerful bourboncasks in combination with matured and refined spirit out of Sherrycasks but the balance is slightly off, it seems that there is no connecting element between some of the Whiskies used for this vatting. The Character of this Whisky is like a new world Chardonnay to me.

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