Tobermory 15 Years Old 2008 Cask #DL 19095 (Old Particular)

This is a Tobermory, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing matured to 15 year old from 2008, drawn from cask DL 19095 and bottled at 48.4%. Only 243 bottles were released. Tobermory, the unpeated malt of the Isle of Mull, comes from one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Its history is famously broken, with long silences; the buildings once held holiday lets and stored cheese.

Distilled in the kinked copper stills for a fruity spirit, building the oily Tobermory style. A refill bourbon cask held it, keeping the fruit to the fore. Past a decade the fruit deepens into honey, wax and a riper orchard fruit. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the fruity, waxy core over time. Its painted home town gives the unpeated malt its name. A rare, more heavily peated make has appeared under the name Iona, after a neighbouring isle. In dry summers the distillery has paused when its hill loch ran low.

At a full 48.4% it is intense and layered. Honey, wax and a soft nut, and ex-Bourbon oak gives vanilla and a light sweetness. It is fruity and full, the oily spirit shining through. The finish runs fruity, nutty and warm. This is an unpeated malt from Mull's only distillery.