Tobermory 26 Years Old 1995 Cask #1974 (Cask-and-Bottles Andreas Rossnagel)

From Cask-and-Bottles Andreas Rossnagel comes this Tobermory matured to 26 year old from 1995, drawn from cask 1974 and bottled at 53.9%. Only 272 bottles were released. Tobermory is the unpeated malt of the island's only distillery, founded in 1798 by John Sinclair. Its history is famously broken, with long silences; the buildings once held holiday lets and stored cheese.

Drawn off stills with their S shaped lyne arms, for a medium bodied, fruity spirit. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the fruit. Beyond twenty years the malt grows deep and waxy, honey, dried fruit and nut over old oak. Sea air works into the island maturation, lending a faint saline lift. In dry summers the distillery has paused when its hill loch ran low. The distillery sits at the head of the bay, beneath a steep wooded hill. Both malts feed the Scottish Leader and Black Bottle blends as well as single malt.

At a hearty 53.9% it carries real weight. Green apple, citrus and a herbal lift, and vanilla and a soft oak come from the bourbon wood. The texture is oily and waxy, the fruit threaded through. A long, waxy finish carries a green lift. This is Tobermory's oily, unpeated island single malt.