Earth, Water, Fire, Wood, Metal. These five elements are at the core of whisky making and they make up the Tomatin Five Virtues series launched in 2017. All NAS releases at 46%.
Tomatin Wood is drawn from a combination of 70% French oak, 20% American oak and 10% Hungarian oak, representative of the many varieties of the 177.000 casks they hold in their 14 warehouses. The spirit was distilled between 1999 and 2006.
Tomatin Fire was matured in heavily charred casks, stimulating new, fresh vanilla flavours. The casks were filled in 2005.
Tomatin Wood
(46%, OB ‘Five Virtues’ 2018, 6000 btl.)
Tomatin WoodNose: quite candied, with orange and pineapple cubes, peaches on syrup, toffee and vanilla notes. Then also a fragrant side (cotton candy, lychee, rosewater lokum) which is not uncommon for French oak. Fresh oak shavings underneath.
Mouth: creamy and sweet again, with raisins, candy sugar and plums up front. Gradually it gets woodier, with a slightly harsh edge. Ginger and cardamom. Aniseed. Tobacco leaves. Dry, with green oak in the fore.
Finish: quite short, green and spicy. Wood it is.
As a concept malt: well done. I really like the fruity nose and the sweet palate, but the oak does take the upper hand, leaving me with mixed feelings in the end.
Score: 82/100
Tomatin Fire
(46%, OB ‘Five Virtues’ 2018, 6000 btl.)
Tomatin FireNose: not quite on fire. Above all I find lots of milky aromas, think strawberry and cream candy, as well as vanilla yoghurt. This moves towards white chocolate and waffle dough. Banoffee. Apple pie with cinnamon too, and just a little citrus.
Mouth: sweet, very malty and a little undefined. Lots of toffee notes, cinnamon pastry and vanilla cream. Apple pie is here again, as well as honey and light pepper.
Finish: short, slightly drier, still this apple / cinnamon combination.
This one is more one-dimensional than Tomatin Wood. Very creamy and sweet, but low complexity and little fruits. Sold out in most places, although you may find a leftover bottle.
Score: 78/100