Tamdhu 8 Years Old The MacPhail’s (G&M)

Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, this Tamdhu, aged 8 year old and bottled at 40%. Set on a Speyside site once known for smuggling, Tamdhu has distilled since 1897. It was built by a consortium of blenders led by William Grant and designed by Charles Doig; the name is Gaelic for little dark hill.

Distilled on soft Speyside water in onion stills, building the rich, sherried style Tamdhu is known for. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the fruit lead. At this age the spirit is fresh and fruity, the sherry bright over orchard fruit. The fragrant, fruity spirit has the weight to stand up to active sherry wood. 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. Sherry casks, both Spanish and American oak, define the modern Tamdhu.

At an approachable 40% it is rich and balanced. The American oak brings vanilla and a honeyed apple. A baked apple and a warm ginger lift it. It closes long, sherried and warm. This is the sherried Speyside malt of Tamdhu.