Whisky Review: Tamdhu 15 Year Old

Editor’s Note: The party behind this whisky gave us a review sample. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review. 

Scotland’s Tamdhu distillery in the whisky nation’s Speyside region has a long and storied history that focuses on the sherry cask maturation of its Scotch single malts. Established in 1897, within a year, the distillers of that era had already determined that securing their first shipment of sherry casks from the bodegas in Spain was the way to go.

The distillery eventually shuttered in 1927, staying dormant for the better part of two decades until 1949, when it was decided to modernize the facility somewhat to help support growing production demand. Things continued along at a good clip through the 1970s and beyond until 2010, when external considerations forced Tamdhu to close its doors, perhaps for good.

Two years later, its closed doors ended as parent company Ian Macleod Distillers kicked things off once more, focusing on maintaining a 100% sherry cask maturation.

The whisky being reviewed today, Tamdhu 15 Year Old, was introduced as a new core range offering in 2019. Sherry cask maturation entirely occurred in American and European Oloroso casks. Bottled un-chill filtered at 46% ABV, it is priced at $145 a bottle.