Tamdhu 7 Year (SMWS 8.43 "Shaded by Flowers")

 

Tamdhu is an underrated distillery, founded in 1897, and currently owned by Ian MacLeod Distillers (Rosebank, Glengoyne, Smokehead blended, Sheep Dip blended, many more). I only see independent versions of it from time to time, and apparently it's been a long time since the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") had a cask from them. This cask, the 43rd that SMWS has released from Tamdhu, was matured for 7 years in a first fill PX sherry butt, and released as part of the 40th anniversary of the SMWS. 

Here are the official notes:

This opened with a big, no-nonsense initial aroma of custard with mulling spices, warm coffee grounds, walnut cake, dusty old bodega funk, mace, allspice and toasted almond flakes. With time a slightly sweeter, earthier edge emerged, like earthen-floored wine cellar must and walnut wine. Water brought out more aromatic aspects such as hothouse flowers, tobacco leaf and boiled mint sweets, plus a touch of candied grapefruit. The neat palate was surprisingly rounded, featuring lots of demerara sugar, plum wine, fennel seeds and treacle tart with a hint of blood orange. With reduction we found a much more intense and direct sweetness, characterised by flavours of blackcurrant jam, dates, plums in cognac, raisins and toasted oak lactones. 

Sounds like a pretty standard PX matured scotch, although I'm hopeful about the grapefruit and the flowers. Bottled at 55.7% ABV, let's see how it does:

Nose: Very heavy sherry influence, as expected. Flan, coffee, nuts, spices - the official notes are spot on with this one. But also a bit young - the alcohol hit is noticeable, and the flavors aren't quite 100% developed, or integrated. 

With water, it gets more fragrant (perhaps a slight perfume) but is essentially the same. However, with water and a lot of time, the citric note here develops quite a bit. I don't get full-on grapefruit, but I could potentially sign off on blood orange. Mostly I get sweet orange. 

Mouthfeel: Thinnish, but oily and coating. 

Palate: Tons of coffee, authentic Spanish flan (!), tons of almonds, brown sugar, and hints of orange. Some cinnamon and leather (!). But the alcohol is also very strong, and tends to overpower the other flavors a little bit. 

With water, dates do emerge, raisins, strong overtones of cognac, and toasted oak. Like some young, brash whiskies, this really benefits quite a bit from extensive time in the glass. After 30-40+ minutes in the glass, this really settles down a bit and shows its best face forward. 

Finish: Coffee and caramel, medium length. 

Verdict: It's hard to tell if the sherry cask here is doing all the heavy lifting, or if the essential Tamdhu spirit has caramel, coffee, vanilla notes that are simply being accentuated. Either way - it's quite young, but rich and pretty tasty. I suspect this will develop well in the bottle. For $125, this was a pretty good deal for a full sherry maturation single cask scotch from a distillery that doesn't come up too often.