The grand finale in tonight's vertical tasting is the Tomatin 18 Year Old. This one is finished in Oloroso Sherry casks. No mention of how long.
- Nose (undiluted): dry sherry, raisins, walnuts, dark chocolate, oak, a bit of char, and something herbal, maybe some rosemary
- Palate (undiluted): rich mouthfeel, obvious sherry influence, vanilla, some cinnamon, orange zest
- Finish: medium length, bright grapes, vanilla, green apples, some oak notes and a touch of coffee and cocoa powder lingering
Everything seems right, but I want more out of this whisky. I want more...something. I'm not sure what's lacking, but it isn't blowing me away. Maybe it's palate fatigue, but I don't think so. It's almost like the flavours aren't quite clear or defined enough, like watching a VHS on an old tv set when you're used to blu-ray and a 4K television. It gets better with a longer rest in the glass, but I still want more...(clarity?) from this whisky. It would be interesting to see what time and air exposure did to a full bottle of this. There's a lot of potential and lots of good flavours, but they don't feel fully integrated. Would I buy a bottle of this? Maybe, if the price was right, I would. I feel like time and air would bump this up 3 or 4 points for me.
@OdysseusUnbound was your tasting set one with the old livery with the black labels?
I think this review is a good occasion to ponder how when dealing with a sample it can be hard to suss out a whisky completely. It's like sketching something out quickly knowing the model or scenery will change soon. You get a good impression of the main points and lines but there's nuances and finer points you would miss from repeat exposures.
@OdysseusUnbound, yes, I think that you are precisely right when you say that 'time and air' would likely bump the score for the Tomatin 18 yo up 3 or 4 points for you. I had that exact experience with my sister's 750 ml bottle.
Even Highland Park 18 doesn't usually taste like much out of a mini. I know. I reviewed it from one and later felt like I had done it an injustice. But what are we to do? People drink whisky from everything from newly opened bottles to 40+ yo opened bottles.
What we could do, but never will, because it is 10 x as much work, is do reviews in the style of @systemdown, elaborate detailed time studies, which put 4 or 5 reviews into the space of one. Those reviews are wonderful, but if that is what we all did, almost no one would want to undertake the task of reviewing. There would then be no reviews ever of a single sample of anything.