Tomintoul 43 Year Old 1969 The Whiskyman

This is in fact my very first Tomintoul. So I have no point of reference. Just so you know. Might even be a good thing. Tomintoul is a lesser known distillery in Speyside, founded in 1964. They produced exclusively for the blending market for many years. Only in the last decade is Tomintoul available as single malt. They are slightly peated, but also have a heavily peated (55ppm) version called Old Ballantruan, produced only three weeks per annum. The one I am tasting now is a Tomintoul from 1969, bottled by The Whiskyman.

The nose is light and very fruity. Ripe peach, pineapple, vanilla fudge, sweet malt and cheese cake! The wood has absolutely not taken control of the spirit, but only enhanced it beautifully with esters. Soft as a baby skin. I hardly notice any peat. Eucalyptus and green tea emerge after some hand warmth.

On the palate, however, some peat does emerge (or is that smoke from the wood?), as well as some peper. Feisty with a good body. Wonderfully mouth coating. Orange liqueur, tea again, banana, coffee and some prunes. Great.

The finish lasts on prunes and oranges. I am smacking my lips quite litteraly, if you know what I mean.

This is what makes me happy. What a discovery! I will immedialely locate a few more Tomintoul samples to get to know this malt even better.

Find where to buy Tomintoul whisky