Tobermory 21 Years Old 1996 Cask #HL 14412 (Old Malt Cask)

Hunter Laing bottled this Tobermory, a 21 year old release from 1996, drawn from cask HL 14412 and bottled at 50%. 128 bottles in all. Tobermory, the unpeated malt of the Isle of Mull, comes from one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. It is one of Scotland's oldest distilleries, and the only one on its island.

It was distilled from unpeated malt in kinked copper stills on soft Mull water, giving the oily, fruity island make. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the fruit. At this age it is rich and oily, the fruit folded into a waxy, honeyed body. Years in oak round the spirit, the fruit and wax deepening with age. The town of Tobermory was laid out by the British Fisheries Society a decade before the distillery came. The distillery's history is broken by long silences; its buildings once stored a local cheddar. Burn Stewart revived production in 1993, and Distell bought the distillery in 2013.

Undiluted at 50%, it is powerful. Orchard fruit, wax and a nutty note, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. A baked apple and a nutty note lift it. A long, oily finish ends on orchard fruit. This is Tobermory, the unpeated malt of the Isle of Mull.