Tomintoul Peaty Tang

I first ran across this dram in the pub of a depressing hotel in the town of Tomintoul. It helped cheer me up and when I got back home I tracked a bottle down. Considering the price (about $40) this is a solid malt, one that can hold its place with many expensive offerings. Sure wish this was bottled at 46% - then Tomintoul would really have a gem.

Color: Bright gold ("Natural colour" does not appear on label)

Nose: Quite peaty! Soft smoke and creosote. Spiced apples and cloves. Lemon zest in background.

Palate: Medium body with a nice viscous mouth feel. Mostly one dimensional (peated malt) with the spices (apparent on the nose) pretty much hidden in the background. The malt ride is quite nice however. Oak arrives late drying everything out.

Finish: Dry with oak tannins to the front.

After reading good things about it, I figured I couldnt go wrong grabbing it for only €26,- for a liter bottle(!)

Nose: almonds, resin, soft but present peatsmoke and sigarette ash, honey, eucalyptus forest, mint, buttercookies, lavender

Palate: clean and gentle arrival in a lightly oily/buttery mouthfeel. On the palate u get the nose with some more bitter vegetables, pine tree forest notes, chamomile tea, roasted hazelnuts, honey and some licorice. You'd almost forget that its peated but the smoke is very well intergrated leaving room for the other flavors to shine.

Finish: a nice warm glow with the vegetable peat, roasted nuts, caramelised pear and incense smoke.

This is a very nice whisky for a very nice price. It has a lot more going on than just the peat, which has a character of it's own too. In my opinion it beats all the budget Islay expressions from Ileach, Finlaggan, Smokehead etc in flavor, but it lacks the punch and power of the classic Island malts. If only this was bottled at 46% without filtration and no colouring, then it would be perfect :)

Knowing that Tomintoul market sits peated whisky under the Old Ballantruan label, this raised my eyebrows a little. Maybe not as peaty as the Old Ballantruan? Who know? Anyway, it is an entry level malt, bottled at 40% ABV and available for less than 30 EUR. No age statement. It hit the shelves for the first time in 2007.

Green nose, if you know what I mean. Loads of grain (just harvested), pine cones and wet earth. Heather too. A little fruit only, some sultanas perhaps. The longer you wait, the more it starts to smell like a mash.

It is very light on the palate, almost watery. The mash evolves towards malted barley, almonds and some dried fruit. The peat takes care of a discrete and sweet, but pleasant smokiness. Vanilla. A mildly salty edge shines through midpalate.

The finish is medium long and mildly smoky, but ends on a very sweet note.

Very clean and simple Tomintoul with a twist. You could say this is a nice introduction to peaty whisky, but I know a few others that can handle that introduction better. Thanks, Pat!

Tomintoul is an off the radar Speyside distillery featuring age statement bottlings from 10-21 years old as well as some other vintages. This is the Peaty tang, a vatting of 4-5 year old peated malt and 8 year old unpeated.

• Nose: Clean and delicate with apple brandy, honey baked pears, some rose floral notes a touch of cream, the ‘peaty tang’ is an earthy cereal and grains with some roast ham. With water no real change here, and at 40% there isn’t too much need for it.

• Pallet: gritty smoke on entry then fades and develops into cereal and fruit tones with honey, all front of the tongue. With water less fruity and the interesting edition of curry powder.

• Finish: fruits fade into smoked honey cured bacon then some sooty fire and icing sugar. With water much the same

• Mark neat – 8.2, with water 8.2

This is a nice mixture of a relatively delicate spirit with some peaty notes. Nothing special but worth trying

I was really excited about trying this anomaly from Speyside.

This is one of those rare single malts that is distilled using peated barley in a Speyside distillery and the result is quite unusual and remarkable.

The first nose gives you the pleasantly familiar tang of peatiness (as promised by the name) and instantly transports you to a distillery in Islay. Though, it's as if your mind is in Islay but your heart is still in Speyside; it's an unusual feeling. Under the big wallop of peat lie sweet undertones of honey and sugar. The dry aura of heather then permeates through with a cosy, buttery scent of biscuits.

It's a strong, strong delivery full of smoke and the palate needs a while to adjust and discover other hidden treasures underneath this peaty assault! First there's a small slice of pancake smeared in delicate citrus and that's followed by a sprinkling of dry nuts. The end is an all-spice affair which tends to linger.

Quite a unique flavor profile on this one. It stands with one foot on Islay and the other on Speyside and the beauty is it's chosen to stand in exactly the right spots!

Nose: damp, boggy peat. Dry grass/hay. Slight whiff of burnt paper, but otherwise little in the way of smoke. Also subtle sweetness, hinting at vanilla. Peaty and tangy, all right.

Taste: light-bodied, it arrives with lots of peat and also a squeeze of lemon. It is a double-layered delivery of sweet and peaty flavours, though without much complexity. Flavourful but unchallenging.

Finish: fades rather quickly for a peaty whisky. Some nice sweet-dry echoes, though.

Balance: while not a knock-your-socks off whisky, Peaty Tang is just so darn enjoyable. It does what it does extremely well, and nothing is off-balance at all. Nicely put together.

Certainly peaty on the nose, but no spiciness or other distinct characteristics. Mellow and smooth, but still flavourful. Burnt sugar and peaty smokey again on the palate, but still mild.