Tomatin 1994/2015 20 Year old Golden Cask

On a recent visit to Japan I happened to check out Yamato Trading’s showroom in Osaka and tried a number of Golden Cask Series bottlings from The House of Macduff. Among them was this 20-year old Tomatin of which I took a sample home. It was distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2015 from cask no. CM221, the total outturn being 257 bottles.

The nose is a bit dry at first, then gets rather sweet with a good dose of vanilla and banana flavours, followed by milky notes, porridge, and a touch of honey.

The palate is medium-bodied and spicy, with plenty of wood spice upfront. A little while later, it takes on a creamy and buttery texture, with flavours of lemon and honey coming to the fore, followed by a touch of pineapple.

The finish is long, warming and dry. There is now good balance between the wood spice and the fruity flavours.

I had not tasted too many Tomatin expressions before but this was certainly a well-crafted example, with an interesting nose and a very well balanced palate. Makes me want to try more Tomatins in the future!

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