Tomatin 12 Years Old 2011 Cask #101 (Best Dram)

Best Dram bottled this Tomatin, aged 12 year old from 2011, drawn from cask 101 and bottled at 56.9%. The outturn was 209 bottles. Set in the Highland hills south of Inverness, Tomatin has made single malt since 1897. It was bought in 1986 by Takara Shuzo of Japan, the first Scotch distillery in Japanese hands.

Drawn off copper pot stills fed by the burn of the deer, for a soft, apple and pear scented spirit. Maturation in a fortified or wine cask lent red fruit and spice. Past a decade the fruit deepens into honey, apple and a soft spice. The mellow make leans on the cask for much of its colour and flavour. Cu Bocan focuses on unusual cask finishes, from sherry to wine and beyond. 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.

At a full 56.9% it is bold yet fruity. A soft, fruity sweetness, and the Port cask adds plum and red berry. The mouthfeel is soft, the fruit carried on a mellow body. A long, honeyed finish carries a fruity lift. This is a gentle, fruity Highland single malt.