Tomatin French Collection – Rivesaltes Casks 12 Years Old 2008

This Tomatin, an official release, a 12 year old release from 2008 and bottled at 46%. Only 6000 bottles were released. Tomatin is the soft, fruity Highland malt of a distillery founded in 1897 near Inverness. A very long fermentation, among the longest in Scotch, builds the fruity character.

Worked through onion stills for a light, fruity spirit, for the soft, fruity Highland make Tomatin is known for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the orchard fruit. Around the mid teens the malt gains a fuller honey and ripe fruit. The unpeated spirit lets the wood and the fruit speak without smoke. 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. The Antiquary blend came into the group through the blender J and W Hardie.

At 46% it is smooth and fruity. A mellow, fruity character, and the oak lends vanilla and a soft sweetness. 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.