Tomatin 12 Years Old 2009 (The Whisky Cask)

Bottled by The Whisky Cask, this Tomatin, a 12 year old release from 2009 and bottled at 55.3%. Tomatin, founded in 1897 in the Highland village of the same name, was once Scotland's largest malt distillery. 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. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. By this age the soft spirit rounds into orchard fruit and a gentle oak. The long fermentation lays down the fruit the cask then frames. 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 55.3%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Orchard fruit and a gentle malt, and the Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth. A baked apple and a gentle spice lift it. It finishes soft, fruity and clean. This is Tomatin's soft, fruity Highland style.