Tomintoul 9 Year (SMWS 89.17 "Keep Nosing")

The second of six samples offered at the June 2023 outturn event of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC. This was a 9 year ex-bourbon Tomintoul, bottled at a rousing 67.5% ABV (!). The SMWS doesn't get a lot of Tomintoul, which is too bad, because this distillery does particularly well in independent bottlings.  

Tomintoul 7 Year (SMWS 89.11 "A Kraftwerk Orange")

 

One of my favorite drams of all time was a Tomintoul - an independent bottling (Exclusive Malts, RIP) that I sampled at a tasting in Washington DC. That Tomintoul, a 10 year, oozed honey and marshmallow for days, and was outrageously tasty. 

Tomintoul 10 Year (Exclusive Malts)

This was the fourth whisky in the Arrowine/Impex tasting from early November. After three straight high-quality drams - Invergordon, Glen Moray, and Benmenach - I knew I was in for something good with this 10 Year expression from Tomintoul, a whisky whose official bottling I've had and reviewed here. It was ... alright, at best. But this bottling from Exclusive Malts? Well... let's see. No chill-filtering, no coloring, bottled at 56.2% ABV. 

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.