Tamdhu 18 Years Old 2003 Cask #254 (Gleann Mór)

Single malt Tamdhu, an independent Gleann Mór bottling, an 18 year old release from 2003, drawn from cask 254 and bottled at 49.1%. Just 300 bottles were filled. Tamdhu, first built in 1897 by a blending consortium in Knockando, in the heart of Speyside, is famed for its sherry cask whisky. The old Knockando railway station serves as the distillery's visitor centre.

The spirit was run through the distillery's onion shaped stills, and laid down in Oloroso casks for its sherried depth. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed sweetness. Around the mid teens the malt gains a fuller dried fruit over the orchard fruit. The full bodied make carries the sherry cask well across long maturation. Water is drawn from the Tamdhu Spring on the Speyside site. The distillery was built on a spot once known for illicit distilling. A full, fruity spirit gives Tamdhu the weight to carry active sherry wood.

At 49.1%, undiluted, it is deep and sherried. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, honey and apple over the malt. Soft orchard fruit and raisin sit behind the spice. Raisin and a warm ginger draw out the close. This is the sherry cask malt of Knockando.