Tomatin 10 Years Old 2008 (Authentic Collection)

This Tomatin was from the independent bottler Cadenhead's, a 10 year old Highland malt from 2008 and bottled at 53%. The outturn was 168 bottles. Tomatin is a Highland single malt distilled in the hills south of Inverness, where the distillery was founded in 1897. Water comes from the Allt na Frithe, the burn of the deer, in the Monadhliath hills.

It was run through the distillery's onion stills after a long fermentation, to build a fruity, gently spiced character. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak for a honeyed sweetness. Still young, the malt is fruity and mellow with a gentle spice. The long fermentation lays down the fruit the cask then frames. An old cattle drovers' road ran through Tomatin, and whisky was made here long before the distillery. The arrival of the Highland Railway in the 1890s made the distillery possible. It closed in 1906 and reopened in 1909, finding its feet over the following decades.

At a full 53% it is bold yet fruity. Orchard fruit and a gentle malt, and ex-Bourbon oak gives vanilla and a light apple. Beneath it run apple, pear and a soft spice. It closes soft, fruity and warm. This is Tomatin, the fruity Highland malt.