Tomatin 10 Years Old 2009 Wood Range Wine Cask (Cadenhead’s)

Cadenhead's selected this Tomatin, a 10 year old from 2009 and bottled at 59.1%. 294 bottles in all. Tomatin, founded in 1897 in the Highland village of the same name, was once Scotland's largest malt distillery. Tomatin malt long fed blends such as The Antiquary and The Talisman.

It was made in copper stills from unpeated barley, for a fruity, mellow make. A wine cask held it, layering fruit over the fruity malt. At a youthful age the orchard fruit is lively and the malt soft. Dunnage and racked warehousing on site gives a steady maturation. The distillery sits beside the A9, the old road north to Inverness. Cu Bocan focuses on unusual cask finishes, from sherry to wine and beyond. Tomatin stands at over three hundred metres, among the highest in the land. 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.

At 59.1%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Pear, honey and a malty note, and the wine cask lends red berry and a dry spice. A dried fruit and a soft oak give it depth. Apple, honey and a soft oak see out the finish. This is a mellow Highland single malt from near Inverness.