Entries tagged with tamdhu

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Yet another Tamdhu Batch Strength tasting notes

Tamdhu Batch Strengh NAS OB 75cl 57.5% ABV
Batch 007
Oloroso Sherry oak casks, with a high proportion of first-fill casks
Bottle code L 12 12 22

Color: amber.
Nose: quite noticeable sulphur, pencil shavings, oatmeal cookies, cherries, burnt paper, dates, prunes, dried apricots, tobacco, vanilla, roasted nuts, clove, wax, wool, marshmallow, caramel, and pineapples. Well, it's really funky.
Taste: cocoa, chocolate, cherries, apples, pepper, raspberries, lemons, a bit of salt, some wood, and sulphurous notes.
Finish: cocoa, chocolate, chokeberries, pepper, lemons, cherries, honey, mint, and nuttiness.
Score: 8 ¼. Almost good. +1+1+1.

Conclusion: sulphur! Some casks are clearly contaminated. It's not a disaster, but it definitely knocks the score down. The malt itself is quite impressive and powerful; in many ways, it's similar to the previous batch. But those sulphur notes are hard to ignore, so I can only give it an 83/100.

An update from 3/26/2025: one week after opening the bottle, the sulphur notes had diminished. I'm ready to bump the score to 8 ½. +2+1+1.

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Tamdhu Batch Strength tasting notes

Tamdhu Batch Strengh NAS OB 75cl 56.8% ABV
Batch 006
Oloroso Sherry oak casks, with a high proportion of first-fill casks
Bottle code L 02 05 22

Color: amber.
Nose: dates, caramel, ground pepper, rose petals, wax, marzipan, wool, nuts, hay, soy sauce, chocolate, lemon pie, iced tea, quinces, Cointreau liqueur, apricots, tobacco, and vanilla. Very pleasant, with a pronounced sherry influence.
Taste: cocoa, pears, oranges, lemons, apples, pepper, cloves, a hint of salt, and wood. Very clear, not too sweet, but not overly complex.
Finish: chocolate, cocoa, lemon zest, lime, cinnamon, pepper, apricots, and wood.
Score: 8 ½. Good. +2+1+1.

Conclusion: a pleasant, clearly young, undiluted Tamdhu, and only the fourth malt from this distillery that I've tasted. The quality of the casks is solid, bringing out enjoyable sherry notes in the aroma and cocoa in the taste as well as the aftertaste. It's also great that there's no excessive sweetness. 86/100, with an extra point for taste. Interestingly, the same release in a 70cl bottle, according to Whiskybase, has a completely different code: L 16 08 21. That suggests a 2021 bottling. But if those codes are accurate, does that mean the release for the American market was matured eight and a half months longer? That doesn't seem possible. It was probably just the whisky sitting around in a stainless steel vat before bottling. Still, why so long? Maybe we just shouldn't trust bottle codes in the first place.

Well, I got a bottle for only $50, so perhaps I shouldn't worry too much about the technical details.

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Tamdhu 2007/2024 tasting notes

Tamdhu 17YO Cadenhead 70cl 57% ABV
Chairman's Stock series
Distilled 2007, bottled 11.2024
Cask type: Bourbon Barrel
180 bottles
Tamdhu comes from Gaelic for "little dark hill"
CS-Tamdhu-G-17-57.0.png

Color: golden.
Nose: fresh and baked apples, dill, chocolate, nougat, oak, maple syrup, orange zest, marshmallow, cherries, vanilla. Delicate and fragrant, very pleasant.
Taste: vanilla-chocolate ice cream, lemons, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, oak, marshmallow, apricots. A soft and easy-drinking malt.
Finish: chocolate, honey, lemons, pepper, cloves, cocoa, herbal notes.
Score: 9. Between good and excellent. +2+2+2.

Conclusion: an elegant, impressive malt. I usually prefer more intense, peated whiskies, but I highly appreciate a well-made Speysider. Cadenhead deserves applause for selecting an excellent bourbon cask. As for sweetness — it's noticeable; while everything works well on the palate, I'd love to see a bit less of it lingering in the aftertaste. So on a 100-point scale, it's an 89. In the last five years, the only Speysider I've rated that highly is my beloved Linkwood, though I admit I have a soft spot for it. Whoever the Chairman is, they are sitting on some really good stock!

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Tamdhu CS tasting notes

Tamdhu Batch Strength NAS OB 75cl 58.8% ABV
Batch 001
Matured in Sherry Casks

Цвет: янтарный.
Аромат: мокрое дерево, абрикосы, шоколад, грейпфруты, изюм, соевый соус, финики, розовое масло, табак, печёные яблоки, карамель, мюсли, корица, гвоздика, груши. Очень хорошо!
Вкус: шоколад, настойка шиповника, мармелад, корица, яблоки, орехи, курага, перец, гвоздика, чуть соли. Неплохо, хотя и сладковато.
Послевкусие: шоколад, мармелад, настойка шиповника, дерево, какао, перец, абрикосы. Тоже сладковатое.
Оценка: 8 ½. Хорошо. +2+1+1.

Вывод: реально интересно! Получше, чем их разбавленная "десятка". Хересный молт, чем-то напоминающий известный A'Bunadh, но в то же время со своими, особенными нотками. Всё та же стильная бутылка. За аромат дополнительный плюсик, пожалуй, и надо будет взять ещё раз.

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Tamdhu 10YO tasting notes

Tamdhu 10YO OB 75cl 43% ABV

Цвет: янтарный.
Аромат: леденцы, розовый сад, яблочный шампунь, карамель, мёд, мюсли, соевый соус, корица, груши, абрикосы, сушёные грибы. Фруктово-цветочные нотки хороши, да.
Вкус: горький шоколад, яблоки, апельсины, орехи, гвоздика, корица, чуть перца. Довольно мягкий, хотя и разбавленный, конечно.
Послевкусие: орехи, наконец-то дерево, шоколад, апельсины, перец, чуть соли, спелые абрикосы.
Оценка: 8 ¼. Почти хорошо. +1+1+1.

Вывод: весьма неплохой молодой хересный спейсайдер в стильной бутылке, хотя для десяти лет выдержки всё же дороговатый. Впрочем, основа хороша, и неразбавленный вариант такого виски очень хотелось бы попробовать.