Tormore 32 Years Old 1988 15 years The Nectar (Daily Dram)

Daily Dram selected this Tormore, a 32 year old release from 1988 and bottled at 45.9%. Set near Grantown-on-Spey in Speyside, Tormore has distilled since 1960. It was designed by Sir Albert Richardson, a President of the Royal Academy, in a grand ornamental style.

It was worked through swan neck stills with purifiers, for the light, clean, nutty make Tormore is known for. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed sweetness. At thirty years and more it is rich and waxy, candied fruit, almond and old oak in a deep old malt. The unpeated spirit lets the wood and the fruit speak without smoke. Its rise in 1958 broke a long pause in distillery building that had lasted decades. The architect Sir Albert Richardson gave it a grand, ornamental design unlike any other distillery. Its granite buildings, copper roofs and musical clock earned it listed status in 1986. A workers' village was built nearby in the same striking style.

At 45.9% it is supple and nutty. A light, nutty fruitiness meet a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. Beneath it run almond, apple and a soft spice. The close is clean, nut over orchard fruit. This is a light, nutty Speyside single malt.