Tamdhu 120th Anniversary Single Cask #7389
59.3% ABV
Distilled 12/12/2002; Bottled April 2018
European Oak First Full Sherry Butt
603 Bottles (sample from bottle 238)
$342 (SRP £250)
Website
We would like to thank Paul (check out his reviews here, or on Dapper Drams) for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says
Tamdhu Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky has released an exclusive Single Cask Distillery Team Edition, bottled to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Speyside distillery.
Selected by the 15-strong Tamdhu distillery team and bottled un-chill-filtered at cask strength, only 603 individually numbered scarce bottles will be released. Matured in a European oak first-fill sherry butt, the single malt has a smooth, long-lasting finish and a deep natural colour.
To find the cask best suited to mark the momentous anniversary, a range of ages and cask types were selected, including European and American sherry oak, and blind-tasted by the expert distillery team
Sandy McIntyre, Distillery Manager at Tamdhu Distillery, said:
“The distillery team had a lot of fun nosing and tasting nine samples and voting for their favourites. The final top three were then selected for a blind nosing and tasting and ranked by each of the team members to agree on the winning cask.”
The victor was a European first fill sherry butt, which boasts an exceptional natural colour from years of maturing in Tamdhu’s traditional dunnage Warehouse Number Five.
Sandy McIntyre continued:
“This cask is something to savour and enjoy over a prolonged period. I would expect this bottle to be opened on special occasions when you would share a dram, or two, with close friends and family or even just to keep for yourself – selfish, perhaps, but who can blame you!”
Tamdhu is owned by one of Scotland’s leading, independent family-owned distillers, Ian Macleod Distillers. Tamdhu Single Malt is matured exclusively in the finest Oloroso sherry oak casks from Spain, nothing less. This scarce wood bears two great gifts; colour and taste. Tamdhu’s deep natural amber is developed by the cask and each dram owes its rich, complex taste to the wood.
What Gary Says
Nose: Hello sherry bomb! Loads of sherry with raisins, plums, dates, figs, clove, nutmeg, pecans, allspice and hints of cinnamon with wisps of smoke.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel that starts off with rich dark fruit, dark chocolate covered cherries, and sharpens a tad with some pepper; cloves and allspice along with pecans.
Finish: Long and gently drying with dark cherries, smoke and cocoa.
Comments: This is delicious. The first Tamdhu offering I’ve tried, I fear I’ve started at the wrong end of the spectrum. Very rich and intense dram, and an unabashed sherry bomb (if you like that sorta thing, which I do!) One of the best whiskies I’ve tried in 2019, and reminds me a bit of Macallan cask strength. Yes, it is pricey for a 15 yr single malt – and one can argue that any single cask is just as exclusive. For a special anniversary bottling, this is just as special as you’d like it to be. And remember that age isn’t everything; I’ve had 20 yr single malts I liked less than this. A brash whisky that definitely has me looking to explore Tamdhu further . . . which is fortunate as I have another sample from them to get to shortly!