FACTS
Tamdhu means 'little dark hill', in Gaelic. The distillery was founded in 1897 in the village of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland. The ambition of its founders was to create the best whisky in the world and to make this a reality, they employed the best distillery architect, found the best location along the banks of the river Spey, used the most advanced whisky-making techniques, and selected the best sherry casks from Spain. Soon after opening, the distillery passed into the hands of Highland Distillers but was mothballed between 1911 and 1913 and again from 1928 to 1948. In 1949, the original floor maltings were modernised by the introduction of Saladin Boxes, an invention that mechanised the barley turning process, and as production increased, the number of Saladin Boxes increased to 10.
As the popularity of whisky grew into the 1970's, Tamdhu expanded further to meet demand. From 1972-1975, its capacity was tripled and the distillery currently has 3 spirit and 3 wash stills with an output of around 4.5 million litres per annum. In 2010, the then Edrington group -owned distillery, was forced to shut down, but in 2011, it was sold to Ian MacLeod Distillers, who resumed production in 2013, using the same processes and passion for sherry maturation as the founders had before them. Although much of Tamdhu's production goes into blends like Famous Grouse, J&B, and Cutty Sark, they have many distillery single malt releases and their current range includes a 12 and 15 year old, an annual Batch Strength release, and a number of special releases such as Dalbeallie, Distillery Managers Edition, a 10 year old Limited Edition and their 50 year old, released in 2017.
Whisky/Year: Tamdhu Batch Strength: Batch 003 (2018)
Whisky Type: Single Malt
Distillery/Owner: Tamdhu Distillery (Ian MacLeod Distillers)
Country/Region: Scotland (Speyside)
Cask Type: Sherry Casks
Age: NAS
ABV: 58.3%
Chill Filtration: No
Natural Colour: Yes
Price: R1300 / $87 / £70
TASTING NOTES
Colour:
Auburn / Umber
Nose:
With the high abv, the nose starts off sweet, buttery, rich, and fiery with an alcohol blast and some acetone. There's loads of dark chocolate, raisins, and prunes macerated in liquor. This leads to fruitier notes of bitter orange marmalade as well as fresh strawberry and apricot. There are baking spices running throughout the experience. Water tones down the heat and brings out more sweetness as well as more of the solvent notes
Palate:
The palate is juicy and mouth-watering but also oily in texture which then leads to a big chilli bite. It's silky and rich with a deep meatiness alongside buttery pastry and mixed nuts. A sweetness pervades with not much in the way of the tannins you'd expect from sherry casks. There's a deep, rich vanilla extract with dried apricots, raisins, baking spices, and chocolate. With water, the chilli intensity goes from habanero to jalapeno. It becomes fruitier and juicier but the overall oiliness is removed
Finish:
The finish is long with plenty of rich fruit, vanilla, and a roasted nuttiness with a lingering chilli bite
P.S.
What a properly delicious sherry bomb! I've had a number of high-strength, sherried whiskies over the years but this is certainly one of my favourites and one I prefer over the ever-popular Aberlour A'bunadh and Glenfarclas 105. It's got everything I like in a sherry monster; meaty, oily, buttery profile with chocolate and loads of fruit, and the high abv makes it super versatile. I'm sure these are long gone but Batch 004 is already available and if Tamdhu's recent spate of excellent releases is anything to go by, it's bound to be every bit as good.
SCORE: 8/10
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