Reviewed by @Rigmorole

0 788/100

Nose: Butter brickle; vanilla bean, guava, tundra flowers; pine resin.

Palette: Thin mouthfeel that is less than satisfying; red apples; toffee; caramel nougat; rice krispy treats; vanilla, oak.

Finish: Medium length; cinnamon; lukewarm 2% milk; cane sugar; alcohol finally comes through.

Don't spend over $80 (American) on this bottle. It's not worth any more judging by the one I have. I paid as much in Oregon as I would have paid for a bottle of Glenfarclas 21 or a few more bucks for the 25 (Decades is priced between the two in Oregon). Oh, how I wish I'd bought either of the Farcs. They're miles above this one.

In theory, Decades should be wonderful judging by the alleged care put into mixing such intriguing casks from bygone years. For me, the stuff is thin and unsatisfying for the price tag and the alleged age of the whisky involved in some of the casks.

Oh well. Can't say I didn't give it a shot. My wallet suffered for the effort, and some trust in glowing reviews that were, well, over the top. Listen to the critical reviews out there before you put all of your eggs in the glowing reviews basket.

This dram is certainly not bad. But it's far from spectacular. I really like the concept of its creation; the end result just doesn't deliver in my estimation.

@Rigmorole commented:

I've been enjoying the bottle, which is now about half empty. Thinking back, I think Ralfy might have been particularly impressed with the offering because it essentially fulfills his prediction for Tomatin and Tomentoul--which was that they would both offer more craft presentations in the future. I think Ralfy was "rooting" for Tomatin to come round an embrace a more craft presentation, such as this one.

Be this as it may, Decades should have had a higher ABV. 46% falls short of "craft" for me. With more alcohol from the cask, the flavor would have really jumped out even more.

@Onibubba commented:

This was at the top of my list for "whiskies I must find" during a recent trip to Orange County CA. No luck. Reading your review makes me happy that I missed it ;)

May your next bottle be a magnificent one.

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Reviewed by @Spartacus

0 089/100

Nose – A lovely sweet maltiness, fruity aromas of fresh peach, apple and pear with gentle hints of dried apricots and raisins. Rich pine and oak wood. The hint of a distant smouldering fire wafts about in the background.

Palate – Flavours of tropical fruit, rich Christmas cake, aniseed, cinnamon and creamy fudge. The rich malty sweetness returns with a nutty edge.

Finish – Mellow and memorable, oaky and soft spicies.

Comment on @Spartacus's review

Reviewed by @maltster

0 288/100

This is my first review- since weeks I am thinking about the right bottle which is appropriate for this kind of purpose; now I decided to just give the latest bottle which I bought the other day a go and this Whisky is a special bottling from Tomatin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their current Master Distiller, Douglas Campell. He selected casks from each decade (1967 Shery hoggie; 1976 Sherry butt; 1984 Sherry hoggie, 1990 bourbon barrel and a 2005 bourbon barrel) to create this special Whisky.

nose: sweet and fatty like a rich shortbread dough with lots of butter and vanilla. After the tingling sweetness I can get lots of freshly cut ripe apples, pears and the obvious raisins from the sherrycasks - along these fruits there is ginger and some oak; even a tiny bit of smoke - I like it.

palate: this is rich and creamy with malty and intense exotic fruits: pineapples, peaches, some peppered papaya. The mouthfeel is smooth and oily with a hint of bitterness from the oak.

finish: dry and long finish with papaya again; nuts and spices - lovely Whisky.

First of all this is good Whisky but it doesn´t leave me completely satisfied - in the beginning I thought this is best of both worlds: young and powerful bourboncasks in combination with matured and refined spirit out of Sherrycasks but the balance is slightly off, it seems that there is no connecting element between some of the Whiskies used for this vatting. The Character of this Whisky is like a new world Chardonnay to me.