Tamdhu 15, 1968, 43% abv.

Sestante import. Tamdhu means "Little Dark Hill" in Gaelic and is one of the few Scottish distilleries with little drama. It is now owned by Ian MacLeod Distillers with most of the juice going to blends such as The Famous Grouse, J & B and Cutty Sark. It's one of those distilleries that has more in the IB circle than OB square.

Nose: a serious bouquet of fruits, flowers, and a variety of honey, but it fades quickly. Swirling the juice apparently/obviously resets the aromas and it becomes sweet and floral again although at lower impact.

Palate: starts off sharp, well bodied, meaty fruit juices, I'm sensing plums, apples, some mango, light hints of pineapple, abv spice is slow, with time it becomes toast, back palate is sharp juice which smooths out with time. Feels a lot higher than 43% abv.

Finish: short, a little chemical-ish, warm, like drinking hot apple cider, mellow melted bananas, only the tingly abv burn lasts.

The nose was quite nice initially, but seemed to dissipate quite fast. The body is cooked meaty/fleshy fruits, generally sweet but with spices and seasoning, especially cinnamon. A different Scotch. They say vintage Scotch has a certain chemical(s) that isn't prevalent in modern whiskies, bourbons, and blends. I think I can taste it.

Grade: B

Whiskyfun, Angus MacRaild, sgp:661, 90 points for b. or d.1980s

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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