Tamdhu 8 Years Old 2017 Cask ##178/2017 (Whiskyhort)

Whiskyhort bottled this Tamdhu single malt, an 8 year old release from 2017, drawn from cask #178/2017 and bottled at 40.5%. A release of 29 bottles. Tamdhu was opened in 1897 in Knockando, Speyside; it once ran the last Saladin box maltings in Scotland. Tamdhu ran the last Saladin box maltings in Scotland, the boxes still standing on site.

The spirit was made in copper stills and filled into sherry seasoned oak, for a fragrant, fruity spirit with weight for the cask. Sherry seasoned oak gave the dried fruit richness Tamdhu is known for. At a youthful age the fruit is vivid and the sherry clear. Long ageing turns the orchard fruit towards fig, raisin and a warm spice. The Spey valley's cool air gives a slow, even maturation in the warehouses. 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.

At 40.5% it is soft, fruity and sherried. The Oloroso brings fig, date and a gingered oak. The texture is rich and rounded, the fruit lifted by sherry. The finish runs rich, nutty and spiced. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.