Tobermory 16 Years Old 2008 Cask #3082 (BB&R)

This is a Tobermory, bottled by Berry Bros & Rudd, a 16 year old release from 2008, drawn from cask 3082 and bottled at 54.9%. 453 bottles in all. Tobermory is the fruity, unpeated side of the only distillery on the Isle of Mull. The distillery was founded in 1798 by John Sinclair, a local kelp merchant, as the Ledaig distillery.

The spirit was distilled in the kinked copper stills for a fruity spirit, building the oily Tobermory style. A sherry cask wrapped the waxy spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. 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. Burn Stewart revived production in 1993, and Distell bought the distillery in 2013. The stills carry boil bulbs and a kink in the lyne arms, which lifts the reflux. Water is drawn from a private hill loch, the Gearr Abhainn, above the town.

At a full 54.9% it is intense and layered. Honey, wax and a soft nut, and the Oloroso adds figgy fruit and a warm nuttiness. 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.