Tobermory 25 Years Old 1994 Cask #514/19 (UD – bottler)

A Tobermory single malt, picked by UD - bottler, aged 25 year old from 1994, drawn from cask 514/19 and bottled at 56%. 19 bottles in all. Tobermory, the unpeated malt of the Isle of Mull, comes from one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Ledaig, the old name kept for the peated malt, means safe haven in Gaelic.

It was drawn off stills with their S shaped lyne arms, for a medium bodied, fruity spirit. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak for a honeyed sweetness. Past twenty years the spirit turns honeyed and waxy while keeping its fruit. Long maturation turns the green young spirit towards honey and ripe fruit. 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. Its painted home town gives the unpeated malt its name.

At its natural 56% it is concentrated. Green apple, citrus and a herbal lift, and the bourbon cask adds vanilla and a gentle honey. It is fruity and full, the oily spirit shining through. The close is long, fruit over a soft oak. This is Tobermory's oily, unpeated island single malt.