Tobermory 15 Years Old 2008 (SMWS 42.84)

This Tobermory was released by Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a 15 year old release from 2008, drawn from cask 42.84 and bottled at 55.9%. A release of 218 bottles. Made on the Isle of Mull, Tobermory is the unpeated single malt of the island's sole distillery. Burn Stewart revived the distillery in 1993, and Distell of South Africa bought it in 2013.

The spirit was run through the distillery's boil ball stills, to build a nutty, waxy, fruity character. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the fruit. Past a decade the fruit deepens into honey, wax and a riper orchard fruit. The waxy, oily spirit takes on cask character slowly and holds its texture well. It is one of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland still working. Tobermory has distilled in the island's harbour town since 1798. The town of Tobermory was laid out by the British Fisheries Society a decade before the distillery came.

At a natural 55.9% it is bold and full. A waxy, oily fruitiness, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. The texture is oily and waxy, the fruit threaded through. A long, waxy finish carries a green lift. This is the waxy, fruity malt of Mull.