Tomintoul 10 Year

Thanks to inscrutable liquor store metrics, Tomintoul 10 Year is on sale at virtually every shop in Washington D.C. this month, generally around $30. That puts it squarely in the "eh, what the hell" range of purchases. 


I knew nothing of Tomintoul before taking a chance on this. A fairly young distillery (1965), and ended up in the hands of Angus Dundee in 2000. Dundee also owns Glencadam, Glen Kirk, Glen Parker, Strathcolm, and others. 

Called "The Gentle Dram," Tomintoul is a Speyside, and this expression is aged in ex-bourbon bottles, and bottled at a disappointingly thin 40% ABV. Presumed colored and chill-filtered. 

Nose: Very soft and subtle. Lemon cookies, a field of heather, and orange blossoms. Caramel. Not a lot else, although I sense some vague things on the periphery. 

Mouthfeel: Thin, but creamy. 

Palate: Follows the nose closely, with a couple additions. Sweet lemon, fragrant grass, and candied orange. Cider apples are added, with perhaps some cinnamon. Toffee. Simple, but not unpleasant. 

Finish: A nice malt sweetness at the end, paired with apples - very little pepper or oaky bitterness. 

Verdict: For $30, entirely acceptable. It's not very complex, and the flavors that are here are not particularly rich or well-established, but everything comes together nicely enough, and nothing offends whatsoever. It is, indeed, very gentle. This would be an excellent Scotch to make a Rusty Nail with, or to give someone who otherwise hated Scotch. This is NOT the whisky to give someone who lived and died for oceanic Islay peat.