Award winning Highland distillery Tomatin has announced the release of new single malt whisky, Decades II.
The distillery used 21 casks from key years across the past five decades to create the unique expression, which it intends to be "a tribute to the Tomatin way of life, and the generations of staff that to this day remain custodians of this exceptional Scotch whisky".
Bottled at 46% ABV, the limited edition run yielded 3,600 bottles which will retail at £175.
With time spent maturing in a mix of traditional Scotch whisky, ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and re-charred French oak casks from the last 50 years, Decades II is a rich and complex expression. Tomatin describes the expression as "unctuous", with notes of Christmas cake, maple syrup and fresh red berries giving way to tropical fruits ahead of a long, waxy finish.
Graham Eunson, Distillery Operations Director at Tomatin, said: "Balancing the flavour profiles of just a few casks can be a real challenge, so to marry five decades of Tomatin whisky in such a way that each cask compliments the next is a testament to the team, both those who work at Tomatin today and those that worked at Tomatin before us, who distilled and laid down some of the casks we've used."
As in the original Decades expression - released in 2011 to mark the commitment of previous Distillery Manager, Douglas Campbell - Decades II combines some of the best whisky from Tomatin's history, with each decade contributing new flavours: from the tropical flavours of the early refill hogshead barrel maturations in the 1970s, through sweetness and syrupy flavours in the 1980s and 1990s, to maltier and spicier flavours in the 2000s as Tomatin experimented with different casks.
The distillery used 21 casks from key years across the past five decades to create the unique expression, which it intends to be "a tribute to the Tomatin way of life, and the generations of staff that to this day remain custodians of this exceptional Scotch whisky".
Bottled at 46% ABV, the limited edition run yielded 3,600 bottles which will retail at £175.
With time spent maturing in a mix of traditional Scotch whisky, ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and re-charred French oak casks from the last 50 years, Decades II is a rich and complex expression. Tomatin describes the expression as "unctuous", with notes of Christmas cake, maple syrup and fresh red berries giving way to tropical fruits ahead of a long, waxy finish.
Graham Eunson, Distillery Operations Director at Tomatin, said: "Balancing the flavour profiles of just a few casks can be a real challenge, so to marry five decades of Tomatin whisky in such a way that each cask compliments the next is a testament to the team, both those who work at Tomatin today and those that worked at Tomatin before us, who distilled and laid down some of the casks we've used."
As in the original Decades expression - released in 2011 to mark the commitment of previous Distillery Manager, Douglas Campbell - Decades II combines some of the best whisky from Tomatin's history, with each decade contributing new flavours: from the tropical flavours of the early refill hogshead barrel maturations in the 1970s, through sweetness and syrupy flavours in the 1980s and 1990s, to maltier and spicier flavours in the 2000s as Tomatin experimented with different casks.
