Tamdhu

I picked up a 50ml sample bottle of Tamdhu (no age statement) at a local shop, having never heard of this whisky before. At the time, I had no knowledge of the distillery, or what kind of flavor profile it had. I have since learned it is a Speyside distillery, and is known as the only distillery to malt its own barley on premise, and it is the main component in Famous Grouse (which is a good thing, as I rather enjoy "The Bird" for casual drinking.)

The distillery only bottles one single malt expression, and it has no age statement. It is bottled at 40%.

Nose: Soft honey and vanilla, with herbal and floral notes on top of a malty base. A little grainy, and grassy. Not that great.

Body: A tad watery.

Palate: A bit bitter, with lots of malt and barley.

Finish: Short finish, drying, with a decent sherry influence coming out. A bit of pepper.

This really isn't a great dram. In fact, it really isn't even good. The finish is probably the best part, but it isn't much to speak of. All in all, this is an average dram that I will not be looking for in the shops. If offered a glass, I would gladly accept it.

I tried two current bottlings and one old bottling of Tamdhu this week. First up was the ‘no age statement’ standard bottle of Tamdhu, the recently closed distillery.

The fresh nose reveals the malt immediately, followed by cereals and honey with a touch of smoke. It also has something sour and something that reminds me of a rubber garden hose…

It has a medium body. The nose returns on the palate, with additional hints of oranges and some vanilla. Unfortunately the whole remains flat and devoid of complexity.

The finish is short and uninspired.

It started well enough on the nose, the palate was less and the finish simply disappointing. Downhill all the way. Pity, but not really a big surprise. This is a harmless and simply entry malt, correctly priced.