Tamdhu 12 Years Old 2012 Xaver Bar (Murray McDavid)

A Tamdhu single malt, selected and bottled by Murray McDavid, aged 12 year old from 2012 and bottled at 52.2%. Just 84 bottles were filled. Set by the Spey at Knockando, Tamdhu has distilled since 1897. Mothballed in 2010, the distillery was revived by Ian Macleod, who relaunched the single malt in 2013.

It was drawn off copper pot stills fed by the Tamdhu Spring, for the full, fruity make that suits sherry maturation. Maturation in Oloroso sherry laid fig and raisin over the spirit. By this age the sherried spirit rounds into dried fruit and a nutty depth. Spanish and American oak sherry casks build the layered Tamdhu profile. Tamdhu was built in 1897 by a consortium of blenders led by William Grant. The arrival of the Strathspey railway in the 1860s made the distillery possible. For decades its malt fed blends such as the Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark. Mothballed in 2010, the distillery was revived by Ian Macleod and relaunched in 2013.

At a natural 52.2% it is full and rich. The Amontillado lends a dry, nutty, almond edge to the fruit. The texture is rich and rounded, the fruit lifted by sherry. A long, sherried finish carries a nutty depth. This is a dried fruit rich Speyside malt.