Tomintoul & Glencadam Finishes and Finites – Virtual Tasting
Tuesday just gone we once again joined Iain and some other lovely guests for a virtual tasting evening. With a theme of ‘finishes and finites’ we were excited to see how the Glencadam and Tomintoul spirits match-up with different flavours. Spoiler alert – we were not disappointed!
*The samples mentioned below, were kindly gifted to us by the team at Angus Dundee*
Finishes and Finites
Taking a slightly different approach to the first two tastings that focused on Glencadam and Tomintoul distilleries core range; finishes and finites is an exploration of whisky ‘done slightly differently’.
Some of the cask finishes featured include Olorosso sherry, Cognac (unfortunately we missed this dram in our boxes, but the tasting notes sounded delicious!), and Ruby port.
Tasting Notes
Glencadam Reserva Andalucia – 46% ABV
Nose: cinnamon, brown butter, stewed orchard fruits, fresh apples
Palate: Christmas cake, cream, dried red fruits, winter spices – nutmeg, cloves
Finish: light spice
Iain and the team wanted to create a sherried Glencadam that was less than £100 – a more accessible expression. An interesting blend of younger and older casks to bring a balance of spritely and mature spirit.
This dram has a really lovely mouth feel, creamy, rich, and coats the top of your tongue. A great bonfire night dram!
Glencadam 13 y/o – 46% ABV
Nose: green apples, fresh pears, vanilla, honeysuckle,
Palate: apples with brown sugar, toffee apple, clotted cream
Finish: tropical fruit, banana bread, butterscotch
Initially designed as a one-off, but sold out very quickly – so ended up becoming a small batch product of 6,000 bottles in a run.
Feels very indulgent and creamy. A wonderful sipping whisky. The texture is just WOW – you can almost chew it.
Tomintoul 15 y/o Port Wood – 46% ABV
Nose: red grape, summer berries, dried cranberries, pepper spice,
Palate: light sweetness, gooseberry compote, dark brown sugar, nutmeg, cloves
Finish: quite a dry, peppery finish
12 years in bourbon cask, and then three years in Ruby port pipes – non-chill filtered, and natural colour.
Iain mentioned ‘rhubarb’ on the tasting – and that perfectly summarises the sweet/tart flavouring of this expression.
Tomintoul Cigar Malt – 43% ABV
Nose: BBQ smoke, burnt sugar, cinder-toffee, red fruits, maple pancakes, creamy nuttiness and leather chairs
Palate: sweet honey, creamy, grapes, more red fruit and maple
Finish: dying embers of a fire, rich and smokey, stem ginger dipped in milk chocolate
We tried this dram at the beginning of the year, so it was exciting to revisit it! A combo of both the unpeated Tomintoul spirit, and heavily peated. This has been chill-filtered, with added colour.
Old Ballantruan – 50% ABV
Nose: old leather, smokestack brisket, grass, smouldering fire, tannins and red grapes
Palate: low and slow meat on a BBQ, hints of sweet notes balanced with mellow smoke
Finish: grilled pineapple, sooty smoke and 70% chocolate
For five weeks a year the Tomintoul distillery focuses on heavily peated spirit.
A great insight into Tomintoul with a peated finish, quite similar to that of a Caol Ila. Long may this continue as we would strongly recommend this peated expression!
Final Thoughts
Iain is a wonderful host – and masterfully managed the difference in the tasting packs. As always, a warm, intimate evening with some great participants.
We’re especially keen to see how the Glencadam spirit feels when match with Fino and PX sherry – apparently, we should watch this space …
The Dram Duo 