Tomintoul calls it single malt 'The Gentle Dram', so I am expecting something soft from this 12 Year Old, but fruity. After all, it is a finished whisky on oloroso sherry casks.
While the nose is sweet from the sherry indeed, I mostly get malt and caramel. Only in the second whiff do I get some citrus (oranges and a touch of lime). Add some toffee and farmer’s butter to that. Complex? Not in the least.
It is quite oily, but immediately rough and spirity. The citrus turns bitter, overpowering the sweetness. The oak is pushing the fruit away. Pity.
The finish is very short.
Very middle-of-the-road whisky that cannot convince me. I cannot escape the felling that the spirit was so bad that the owners decided to finish it on oloroso. But the sherry cask was not able to salvage it in my opinion. Thanks anyway, Wim!
Avoid any the 40%abv offering from Tomintoul I would say.
Cheers.