Tomatin Italian Collection – Amarone Casks 12 Years Old 2010

This Tomatin, an official release, a 12 year old Highland malt from 2010 and bottled at 46%. 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. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the orchard fruit. Past a decade the fruit deepens into honey, apple and a soft spice. The long fermentation lays down the fruit the cask then frames. For most of its life the distillery rarely ran to its full capacity. The make is light and fruity, easy to like and easy to drink. Special releases like Decades and Warehouse 6 have marked the distillery's milestones. Cold, clean water runs down to the distillery from the hills above. Under Japanese stewardship the focus turned from sheer volume to quality.

Reduced to 46%, it is soft. Orchard fruit and a gentle malt, and the refill bourbon lends a quiet vanilla. 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.