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Whiskey Review: Tomintoul Vintage Single Cask 1981

We review Tomintoul Vintage Single Cask 1981, a special release from a lesser-known Speyside distillery inside the United Kingdom's largest national park.

OVERALL RATING

  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Appearance:
Golden and a bit brassy, like autumn poplar leaves
Nose:
, Tomintoul has a serious, earthy backbone underneath its Speyside charms. While it’s not an in-your-face experience, it also offers a low-key complexity and richness worth sitting down with. Tasting Notes Appearance: Golden and a bit brassy, like autumn poplar leaves Nose: Simultaneously warm and rich, and mechanical. On one hand, lovely enticing aromas of honey, cookie, menthol, and orange blossom. On the other, suitcase, Naugahyde, and a bit of rubbery extension cord. The nose is rather closed without water: a few drops reveal bergamot, neroli, green pepper, and wet garden underneath a powdery cast that hints at struck match. Though it sounds discordant, the overall impression is very integrated and cohesive, something like tea time in the garden of the museum archives on a damp day.
Palate:
The first part of the palate is very fruity, with flavors of green apple and honeydew alongside toasted bread crust. Nutty flavors emerge in the mid-palate, more tannic than fatty, like walnut skins and toasted hazelnuts in concert with a dry citrus component – orange peel, orange oil, lemon zest. The finish is earthy with an ethereal, almost porcini-like funk to it. A bit of water amplifies the green fruit components, unveiling guava candy and kiwi. Conclusion: Gosh this was delicious – graceful, sophisticated, contained but not remote, lovable without being easy. Taste if at all possible! FINAL SCORE: 94//100
Finish:
Comments:

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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