Tomatin 17 Years Old 1964 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Gordon & MacPhail bottled this Tomatin, a 17 year old release from 1964 and bottled at 40%. Tomatin is the soft, fruity Highland malt of a distillery founded in 1897 near Inverness. A very long fermentation, among the longest in Scotch, builds the fruity character.

Drawn off copper pot stills fed by the burn of the deer, for a soft, apple and pear scented spirit. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak, lending vanilla and a soft honey. Around the mid teens the malt gains a fuller honey and ripe fruit. The mellow make leans on the cask for much of its colour and flavour. Cold, clean water runs down to the distillery from the hills above. Under Japanese stewardship the focus turned from sheer volume to quality. The very long fermentation is central to the distillery's fruity character. The distillery sits beside the A9, the old road north to Inverness. Cu Bocan focuses on unusual cask finishes, from sherry to wine and beyond.

At 40% it is clean and fruity. A soft, fruity sweetness, and the bourbon cask adds vanilla and a gentle sweetness. 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.