Tomatin Single Cask 13 Years Old 2008

A distillery bottling of Tomatin, a 13 year old Highland malt from 2008, drawn from cask 2909 and bottled at 48.7%. 271 bottles in all. Tomatin is a Highland single malt distilled in the hills south of Inverness, where the distillery was founded in 1897. Cu Bocan takes its name from a spectral hound said to haunt the Tomatin hills.

Drawn off copper pot stills fed by the burn of the deer, for a soft, apple and pear scented spirit. A refill bourbon cask held it, keeping the fruit to the fore. Past a decade the fruit deepens into honey, apple and a soft spice. The cool, high Highland climate gives a slow, even maturation. Tomatin stands at over three hundred metres, among the highest in the land. An old cattle drovers' road ran through Tomatin, and whisky was made here long before the distillery. The arrival of the Highland Railway in the 1890s made the distillery possible. It closed in 1906 and reopened in 1909, finding its feet over the following decades.

At a natural 48.7% it is full and fruity. A soft, fruity sweetness, and the ex-Bourbon lends vanilla and a soft honey. It is fruity and soft, the fruit and oak well matched. The finish is rounded, honeyed and gentle. This is a soft, approachable Highland malt.