Tormore 15 Years Old 2002 (Private Collection)

From Gordon & MacPhail comes this Tormore, a 15 year old from 2002 and bottled at 45%. Just 4000 bottles were filled. Tormore was opened in 1960 in Speyside, near the Cairngorms, and it is now owned by Elixir Distillers. The granite buildings carry copper roofs and a musical clock that plays four Scottish songs each quarter hour.

Distilled on soft Speyside water through purifier stills, building the firm, clean Tormore style. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed sweetness. By this age the light spirit rounds into nutty fruit and a soft honey. Soft water off the granite hills gives a clean, ester driven make. Most of the spirit matures off site, much of it in refill ex-Bourbon wood. The distillery sits near Grantown-on-Spey, in sight of the Cromdale Hills. Tormore is cleaner than the waxy Clynelish, with more weight than the lightest Speysiders. The new owners released a Blueprint Series of 10 year olds in 2025 ahead of a full range.

At 45% it is smooth and nutty. A nutty, orchard fruit sweetness sit alongside honeyed oak sweetness underneath. A green apple and a citrus note lift it. It closes clean, nutty and dry. This is the architectural jewel of Speyside in a glass.