Tomatin Distillery Exclusive – Single Cask 27 Years Old 1990

This Tomatin, an official release, a 27 year old Highland malt from 1990, drawn from cask 16366 and bottled at 54.4%. A release of 258 bottles. Tomatin is the soft, fruity Highland malt of a distillery founded in 1897 near Inverness. Cu Bocan takes its name from a spectral hound said to haunt the Tomatin hills.

Run through the distillery's onion stills after a long fermentation, to build a fruity, gently spiced character. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, soft oak that lets the fruit lead. Past twenty years the spirit turns honeyed and full while staying soft. The long fermentation lays down the fruit the cask then frames. It closed in 1906 and reopened in 1909, finding its feet over the following decades. The Antiquary blend came into the group through the blender J and W Hardie. Malt is bought in, the distillery's own floor maltings having closed in the 1980s. For most of its life the distillery rarely ran to its full capacity.

At 54.4%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Orchard fruit and a gentle malt, and the ex-Bourbon lends vanilla and a soft honey. Soft orchard fruit and honey sit behind the cask. The close is soft, fruit over gentle oak. This is Tomatin's soft, fruity Highland style.