On this journey through peated malts not originating from Islay, I’ve looked at 2 Highland whiskies and a Japanese so far. Nearing the end of this little exploration, I feel it due time to visit the whisky region of whisky regions: Speyside. Although often associated with a fruity, ‘softer’ style of whisky, there is evidence a plenty that there really is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Speyside whisky. Obviously the connotation with soft, fruity whiskies originates from popular, big names the likes of Glenfiddich, Glen Grant or Glenlivet, but for every soft and fruity Speysider, it’s easy to give an example of distilleries producing a more robust style as well (Mortlach, Benromach, Craigellachie, Glenfarclas, Dailuaine,…). If anything, the need to ‘categorize’ an entire region into one or two flavour profiles has more to do with marketing labelling, aiming for recognisability for the occasional customer. So while usually not associated with peated whisky, there’s plenty out there in Speyside who offer peated expressions: Benromach, Benriach, Balvenie, Glen Moray, Glenrothes, and yes, even Glenlivet and Glenfiddich.
A distillery that helps maintain the image of Speyside whiskies being soft and fruity, is Tomintoul – ‘the gentle dram’, yet they also release the peated Old Ballantruan brand. At first hand it might seem somewhat contradictory to have a distillery known for its gentle, soft, delicate even, whiskies, to develop a range of peated whisky. Owned by Angus Dundee, Tomintoul remains until this day a bit under the radar of many who enjoy their whisky. While sister distillery Glencadam has been gaining and earning more and more appreciation in recent times, I can’t but feel that Tomintoul still remains somewhat hidden in the shadows . There’s a number of reasons for this, I think. While they’re pretty well distributed, they are, in most parts, not a supermarket brand, making them instantly and immediately next to invisible to the vast majority of occasional consumers. And while they are mostly found in specialist retailers, the fact that a lot of their core rage is released at 40% ABV and everything that comes with it, explains why they tend to be overlooked by the more seasoned enthusiasts too. So, I hear you thinking, who then buys the stuff? While indeed in the UK and mainland Europe they might be an under the radar brand, Tomintoul is quite popular in overseas (= Asian) markets, where drinkers – for now - seem happy with their whisky in a ‘traditional’ 40% ABV presentation. Then there’s another factor needed in this equation. Quite a significant amount of what Tomintoul produces, is meant for the blending market and goes into supermarket (‘own-label’) whiskies.
While releasing a whisky that is a) peated, b) 50% ABV and c) unchillfiltered and at natural colour seems like big step away from what they usually do at Tomintoul, as a whisky enthusiast we can only applaud them for it. It’s also likely one of the older continuous peated expressions from all non-Islay distilleries, as it’s been around for some 15 -16 years now. Add to that the fact that they use locally sourced Speyside/Highland peat rather than calling on Port Ellen maltings to provide the fuel source, and it’s safe to assume that the whole idea to release a peated single malt originated from a genuine interest and desire to expand the Tomintoul range rather than opportunistically jumping on the peat bandwagon.
Apart from this NAS release, there’s also a 10 year old expression, also at 50% ABV. The NAS retails for around £30-€35, while the 10 yo will set you back some £50-€60, which in today’s market seems very reasonable indeed.
On the nose: very lemony, with a clean, clear peaty note. Silky, with vanilla and milk chocolate, with honey and white sugar adding sweetness. Breakfast cereals betray it’s youthfulness, and underneath there’s a sweet note reminiscent of cough drops/cola gums. A drop of water accentuates the peat, adding a slight umami – cheese like touch to it.
Instantly, there’s ashy peat on the palate. Peppery spice, vanilla and honey sweetness again, and, surprisingly, a faint banana-like note. All nicely integrated. The peat is more at the forefront of things now, but that ‘gentle dram’ is also well presented. On the mouthfeel it’s a bit dry with a light/medium body. A few drops of water bring out the lemon-citrus notes, but despite the 50% ABV it’s quite delicate, meaning that I quickly drowned it trying to see what else might be there.
The finish is medium long, with again an ashy dry note fading out with a vanilla sweetness. With the added water it became just ever so prickly and very slightly salty.
The 50% ABV works well in this whisky. It’s not overpowering by any means and helps to bring out what it has to offer. Overall this is a pleasant and easy going whisky, with a good balance between the peat and the citrus and sweet notes. To me, this qualifies as a bit of an unsung hero – not only because it tends to be overlooked, but also there’s a very strong value for money aspect playing here AND it nicely bridges the gap between the ‘smoothness’ of Speyside and the realm of peated whisky. Will it knock you of your feet? Probably not, but overall this is a pretty decent dram. If you were looking to convert someone to appreciating peated whisky without having to throw them at the mercy of Laphroaig or Ardbeg: this would likely get the job done. 81/100
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