Tormore 40 Years Old 1983 Cask #8025101 (Private Collection)

A Tormore single malt, selected and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, a 40 year old Speyside malt from 1983, drawn from cask 8025101 and bottled at 51.6%. 675 bottles in all. Tormore, completed in 1960 in Speyside, near the Cairngorms, is one of Scotland's most striking distilleries. 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. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness to the clean make. Decades leave it deep and oily, nut and dried fruit with great age. The unpeated spirit lets the wood and the fruit speak without smoke. 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.

At a natural 51.6% it is full and nutty. The Oloroso gives dried fruit and a toasted nuttiness, and apple, citrus and a soft almond meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Soft orchard fruit and nut sit behind the sweetness. A nutty, gently spiced finish lingers. This is a clean, citrussy Speyside single malt.