In August, Tomatin Distillery launched a trio of special edition bottlings including a 14 year old Cabernet Sauvignon, 9 year old Caribbean Rum and 21 year old Oloroso Sherry single malt.

Let’s look at their individual information, and my review of them all…

2007 Caribbean Rum – 9yo – 46% abv

“Opening the set is the 9 year old, fully matured in Caribbean rum casks and is the very first rum release from the distillery. It is described as enticing aromas of coconut and pineapple developing into creamy banana and vanilla custard on the palate, relaxing with lingering tropical fruits at the finish. There are only 6600 bottles available with an RRP of £39.99.”

Colour: Bright, light straw.
Nose: Quite fragrant, malty, sweet and grassy. Some summer citrus fruits lightly linger.
Palate: Straight in with a sweet, vanilla cream oiliness, backed with some spices. There’s a hint of wood, I’m thinking the stick of a toffee apple that’s just got a little bit of fruit and caramel left on it.
Finish: Reasonably long, warming, and quite spiced. Nice sweet notes hang around.
Thoughts: You can tell it’s a tiny bit young maybe, but that’s not a bad thing, it’s sprightly, sweet, creamy and fun. Good stuff. I’d love to try an older (smoother) version of this too.
Available: Master of Malt – £39.95

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon – 14yo – 46% abv

“Next up is the 14 year old spirit, finished in red wine barriques. Tomatin explain that the whisky presents flavours of red fruits, honey and citrus spices, rounded off with a punchy fruit jam. Bottles are limited to 2436 with an RRP of £69.99.”

Colour: Full gold with red hues.
Nose: Buttery pulped down red fruits, Birds custard with red and black currants. Dollop of condensed milk.
Palate: Fairly smooth on the palate with plenty of red fruits and jelly and a malty background. There’s some honey as an underlying note.
Finish: Long, with spiced fruits dominating.
Thoughts: The nose is much more buttery than the palate, which is smooth, leading into a more spicy finish. A good wine finish that works well for me.
Available: Master of Malt – £69.95

1995 – Oloroso Sherry – 21yo – 46% abv

“Rounding off the series is the 1995, finished in Oloroso sherry casks which has also just been awarded one of the top 10 spots at the Whisky Fringe awards. According to the distillery the malt has flavours of heavy dried fruits, rich sherry, honeyed oak spice and dark chocolate. With only 1908 bottles available, this complex whisky it is the rarest of the trilogy and has an RRP of £99.99.”

Colour: A rich, slightly rusty gold.
Nose: Although not totally dominated, the primary nose here is one of a rich, woody sherried dram, plenty of raisins and some menthol. Deep and autumnal.
Palate: Thick oils, made thicker no doubt by the sherry influence. The easiness on the palate nods to the older age of the spirit, although the often found spices from the sherry oaks casks keep the dram lively enough in your mouth. The raisins from the sherry come through nicely.
Finish: The finish is rich, long, and lead by the sherry fruits. Just a hint of Tomatin freshness in the background from the first part of the maturation.
Thoughts: The Oloroso finish really shines here. I’m not sure how long the finish in sherry was, but it seems however long it was, was just enough. It’s a tasty dram that would keep most sherry fans very happy.
Available: Master of Malt – £99.95

Overall Thoughts: The sherry is the star of the show. It somehow seems a more quality dram, showing Tomatin’s good provenance. The other two are fun, and great whiskies, but the sherry wins (then again, it’s the most expensive of the Trio, so you’d hope / expect me to say that).

Many thanks to Tomatin for the samples.

Comments or questions? Why not come and find me on twitter @steveprentice.