In 2015, Tomatin rebranded itself - but this bottle of 12 year Highland scotch, matured in sherry casks, comes from before the change. 43% ABV, chill-filtered, and colored.
Nose: Buttered popcorn!? Which is a very disconcerting and startling note. With water, it changes to rancid butter, which I've actually encountered before. It's not an enticing nose. Underneath that... unique... note is a sherry raisin note, and a bitter oak note. Both are vague and you need to fight to get to them.
Mouthfeel: Light and smooth.
Palate: Very much a sherried dram. Raisins, wet cardboard (!), a much lighter version of that butter note, a rancio note. Sweet, and less offensive than the nose was, although the cardboard flavor is not a winner.
Finish: What finish? It dissolves into the air, never to be seen again. No, that's not quite true - there is a very, very faint wood tannin bitterness that lingers briefly before dissolving away completely. No real finish to speak of, though.
Verdict: I can see why they rebranded - this is not the best 12 year old sherried whisky I've ever had. It might, however, be among the worst. The real offender is the turned butter flavor on the nose. I will review the rebranded version next, so we'll see how it improved with the addition of some bourbon barrels to the recipe.
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