Tomatin Selected Single Cask Bottling 12 Years Old 2009

A distillery bottling of Tomatin, aged 12 year old from 2009, drawn from cask 3440 and bottled at 58.7%. A release of 249 bottles. Set in the Highland hills south of Inverness, Tomatin has made single malt since 1897. Today it works twelve stills, having shifted from blend volume to single malt.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated malt in copper stills on Allt na Frithe water, giving the light, mellow spirit at its heart. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Mid age brings a deeper honey and a riper orchard fruit. Years in oak round the spirit, the orchard fruit deepening with age. 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. Malt is bought in, the distillery's own floor maltings having closed in the 1980s.

At a hearty 58.7% it carries real weight. Apple, pear and a soft honey, and the Oloroso gives dried fruit and a toasted nuttiness. 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.