Hey Everyone. It's been a minute. Sorry for that, but I was quite busy. Had a lot going on at work and we also visited Spain for a few days (I will show you a few pictures at the end of the article) and I had no spare time to write a review for you. I kinda missed it. Today I return with one of my favourites, that is really cheap, consistent and tasty FOR ME. This whisky was one of the very first Single Malt I had at the start of my journey so it is also possible that I have an emotional connection to this it. All of us have whiskies that we are emotionally connected to I think. For me one of these whiskies is Tomatin Legacy. I did not review any OB from Tomatin but I did review an IB from them that was bottle by Murray McDavid. Make sure to check it out.

About the distillery

Tomatin distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in the village of Tomatin. Its whisky is classified as being from the Highland region, as it is 25 minutes south of Inverness.

Although it is thought that whisky has been distilled on the site since the 16th century, when cattle drivers would buy from a local still, the distillery was not established until 1897, under the name of Tomatin Spey Distillery Co Ltd.

The distillery operated with only two stills until 1958. Starting at that time, they began to add stills to increase production capacity, eventually reaching production of 12.5 million litres of whisky per year during the 1970s. Although in 1987 Tomatin was referred to as the largest malt distillery in Scotland, stills have been dismantled since the mid-1980s, bringing their total capacity to just over 5 million litres, though as of 2007, they were only producing 2.5 million litres.

The company went bankrupt in 1906, and reopened under new ownership in 1909. After the liquidation of its owners in 1986, it was taken over by Japanese conglomerate Takara Shuzo and was renamed Tomatin Distillery Co Ltd.

The distillery, as of late, has been making an effort to bolster its name as a producer of single malts and is expanding its core range. In 2003, Tomatin's basic 10-year-old malt was replaced by the 12-year-old. Other limited releases are often made. The distillery also produces a lightly peated single malt called Cù Bòcan which is produced 1 week a year at the distillery.

Production at Tomatin Distillery has been concentrated on single malt whisky since 2000. According to the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2016 the sales increased to 420.000 bottles in 2014, starting at 100.000 bottles ten years ago. 

There are six pairs of stills at Tomatin, of which six wash stills and four spirit stills are still in use today. The wash stills have a capacity of 15,000 litres and the first distillation takes 13 hours. The spirit stills are the same size and shape, as the stills are still based on the original design. The second distillation takes 12 hours, which is proportionally very slow and produces a soft spirit. 

In 13 warehouses Tomatin stores about 170.000 casks. In total, the warehouses have space for about a quarter of a million casks, but the distillery also rents out storage space to 3rd parties. Before beeing filled, casks are looked-after and repaired in Tomatin's own cooperage. There are all types of caks used for Tomatin Whisky: Sherry butts, port pipes, hogsheads and of course Bourbon barrels. The wide variety of casks at Tomatin also includes Marsala or Madeira casks.

The core range includes as well the classic Tomatin style with its unpeated Single Malts as also a new peated line called Cù Bòcan. 

Tomatin Legacy with no age statement, matured in ex-Bourbon and new oak casks, the Tomatin 12 Years Old, matured in ex-Bourbon casks and finished for 6 to 9 months in Sherry casks, can be looked upon as the fundament of the non-peated range that is supplemented by 14, 18, 21 and 30 Year old releases. Limited single cask releases are also available.

The first peated Cù Bòcan was released in 2013. This peated range has been expanded and forms an one core line now with different Single Malts from Virgin Oak, Bourbon and Sherry casks.

Besides the Tomatin Single Malts the premium blended Scotch Whisky Antiquary is also produced at Tomatin Distillery.

Tomatin Legacy - Natural Color (?), Non-chill filtered (?), 43%

"When Tomatin Distillery was established in 1897, the isolated and idyllic setting of Tomatin was almost perfect. However there wasn't a local workforce; the local inhabitants were scattered shepherds and cattle drovers. The company began a project of construction to accommodate its workforce. Since that time the distillery has been at the heart of the community and the community at the heart of the distillery. This legacy has continued and Tomatin remains one of the few distilleries to provide a home for its dedicated craftsmen.Time in Bourbon barrels and Virgin Oak casks brings a light sweetness to The Tomatin Legacy, a non-peaty scotch which boasts aromas of vanilla bean, white chocolate and cinnamon. On the palate gentle waves of fresh fruit peppered with ginger emerge ahead of a light, clean finish."

Nose: A basket of fresh orchard fruits. Green apples, ripe pears, juicy peaches. Maltiness, honey and oak. Vanilla, toffee and espresso. Some tropical fruits can be also found here such as mango and banana. Lots of nuttiness. Cardamom and cinnamon. A hint of spicynesss. Not a boring nose at all, it is quite fresh and pleasant.

Taste: Fresh, strong, oily. Quite hefty, I was not expecting it. Alcohol tastes a bit higher than it actually is. Quite spicy and oaky. Lots of vanilla, banana an toffee. Nuts and malt. Green apples, pears and peaches. Cinnamon, espresso and black pepper. Again, it is not boring. It is young, untamed and spicy. I like it. It might not be everyones cup of tea (in this case whisky haha).

Finish: Medium. Lots of peppery spicyness, oak and espresso. Then sweet vanilla and toffee. Orchard fruits and malted barley. Great finish. 

Overall I think that for 25-30 euros it is a great buy. It was a whisky that started me on my single malt journey but I keep on returning to it every now and then. I would gladly recommend it to beginners and seasoned drinkers too. It is an awesome whisky. I rate it 87 / 100. A solid whisky that you should buy and enjoy at your own pace. Buy it, try it. Drink responsibly.

Some pictures in this article are not owned by me, I tagged their owner and I attached a link of their site. All other pictures that have my logo on them are TAKEN AND OWNED BY ME.

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Check out the points on all the whiskies I've rated and ranked head-to-head over HERE.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.