Tomatin Single Cask 10 Years Old 2005

A distillery bottling of Tomatin, aged 10 year old from 2005, drawn from cask 2648 and bottled at 59%. 212 bottles in all. Tomatin is a Highland single malt distilled in the hills south of Inverness, where the distillery was founded in 1897. A very long fermentation, among the longest in Scotch, builds the fruity character.

Distilled from unpeated malt in copper stills on Allt na Frithe water, giving the light, mellow spirit at its heart. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla and a soft apple. Younger here, it keeps a light, fruity freshness over soft honey. Years in oak round the spirit, the orchard fruit deepening with age. The distillery sits beside the A9, the old road north to Inverness. 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.

Undiluted at 59%, it is layered. Apple, pear and a soft honey, and the bourbon cask adds vanilla and a gentle sweetness. 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.