When I tried Tamdhu 10 Years back in 2013 after the rebirth of the distillery, I was impressed by its smooth character, but it was blemished by some rubber and a lack of punch. A bit later it was upgraded to 43% and recently I heard good things about the latest batches. So here we go, a 2020 edition.
Tamdhu 10 yo (43%, OB +/- 2020)
Nose: so very malty, and still not as fresh as I hoped (some vegetal notes). Weetabix, brown bread, walnut cake, lots of toffee notes. Freshens up over time, with nice brown sugar pastry, orange peel and marmalade, as well as some cinnamon. Mildly sherried, probably a fair amount of refill casks
Mouth: clear and fairly creamy start, but still a light body. Orange peel again, then cinnamon, grainy notes and spicy oak. Golden raisins, fig syrup, some vanilla cake. Caramelized almonds. Light leathery notes, some latte and a herbal, bitter edge.
Finish: medium length, on toffee and latte notes, with balanced oak spice.
Better than the 2013 release indeed. Good entry-level whisky: rounded and medium sherried with a big malty core. Thanks for the heads-up, Guy, and for the sample. Much appreciated.