.tomatin - cuatro - fino sherry finish

Using #TomatinCuatro on Twitter as a medium to launch their latest range, Tomatin chose about 25 people to be among the lucky few to get a first taste of their new range of whisky. Each of the four expressions in the series has been finished on a different ex-Sherry cask: Fino, Manzanilla, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez.

46% abv, €65, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: hay, sweet, honey, pear drops, floral, fresh cut grass citrus, pineapple, nuts, walnuts, fruit, pears, peaches

Palate: hay, rather young, fresh apple-sauce, slightly dry, spicy, white pepper, a thin layer of light spring-honey, floral, clover, nuts, walnuts

Finish: strong, medium long, hot, a hint of marmalade-like bitter
Mark: ++/+++ 

Conclusion: The bitter finish is present for quite some time, and overpowers the otherwise nice nose and palate completely, which is a shame. Quite out of balance.

Extra info: All spirit used in this series was distilled on the 15th of January 2002 and filled into ex-Bourbon barrels. On the 29th of June 2011, all these casks were transferred into four different types of ex-Sherry casks. Bottling took place on the 20th of August 2014, without any addition of caramel colouring of chill filtration. Only 1500 bottles of each expression will be available worldwide.