The first one is a 15 year old, aged in used bourbon casks. The second one is a revamped 18 year old. It has additional sherry cask aging, and it’s also bottled at a higher strength (46% versus the standard 43%).
The entire line’s packaging was also upgraded.
So, the regular line-up now consists of a 12 & 18 yr. old with some sherry cask aging, and a 15 & 25 yr. old, aged in used bourbon casks.
Tomatin, 18 year old, 46%, $60
A new, beefed up version of the 18 year old, with a higher alcohol level and (seemingly) more sherry influence. I must say that I really enjoyed the previous expression, rating it an 87 for its roundness and elegance. I really like this one too and its bold demeanor. Whether you like it or its predecessor comes down to preference and mood. Notes of toffee apple, pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, date nut cake, ripe fruit, and roasted nuts, all dusted with cinnamon, vanilla, and cocoa.
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 88
Tomatin, 15 year old, 43%, $40
A new expression in the portfolio. Quite fruity, with prominent honey-tinged citrus peel, nutty toffee, nougat, and vanilla fudge, leading to a gripping, firm, dry oak resin finish. Deeper and bolder than the 12 year old expression.
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 83
Sound like nice products at fair prices.
Tomatin always seems to garner decent reviews, yet I’ve never seen a bottle in any store. Same story with Antiquary. Hopefully this will change in the near future.
I’m looking forward to tasting these new expressions at WhiskyFest tonight. I applaud Tomatin for keeping the prices so reasonable!
One of the most underrated distilleries in Scotland.
Whenever I bought a bottle, it was always a nice surprise. Not earth shattering, but worth it’s price and more.
Strange for the, in number of stills (23), biggest distillery of Scotland, that they are not more prominent in the news.
Nice to know they have revamped their line up. Might have to order a few at these reasonable prices.
That’s a lot of stills, but they probably just add up to a lot of filler for blends.
They don’t use them all at the moment.
Tomatin is in Big T, Talisman and The Antiquary blends
I agree with everyone’s comments here. I really liked the old 18 y/o as well.
Market penetration in the U.S. doesn’t seem so great – even here in NY metro area – but you can find the old bottlings still, especially the 12, usually at sharp pricing. Looking forward to trying these when they appear locally.
i’m pleased to read good reports of the tomatin range as the 12 year old is available locally (twin cities metro area) in the low $20s. the sheep in me was led by the price to assume that it must not be a very good whisky. especially silly as i quite like the tamdhu 10 which also goes in the low $20s here.
Definitely one of the best values out there. Thanks for the review.
The new 21yo Cask Strength (52%) is another must buy for me as well, if I can find it. Tasted that and the 1990 18yo Single Cask in Limburg which I bought. Excellent whiskies. I must now have the worlds biggest collection of 18yo Tomatins, with a total of 4 different bottlings now
Any distillery that goes 46% and unchillfiltered will always get my support and it really showed on the quality of their bottlings…!
/macdeffe
I can’t believe the pricing on the 15 yo. Is that for real? And it sounds very nice– I don’t mind an adolescent whisky with some strong 2nd fill bourbon cask.
An astounding value. I very much like the current/previous Tomatin 18, but it was a devil to find. I can find the Tomatin 12s rather regularly, but the 18′s always been a challenge.
[...] popcorn…He likes it, but finds less sea influence. Gives it an 88. He also tries the Tomatin 18 and rewards it with an 88 and finds all things that sound delicious on a winter’s evening. [...]
Just bought Tomatin 18 for $42 + tax in DC area. Can’t wait to get home and taste it/
Bought the 12 year in Houston area for $28..the 18 is $52. I like the 12 a lot..can’t wait to try the 18.
[...] What Does John Know (Malt Advocate): 88 points for the 18 year from John Hansell. [...]
This has been released in Ontario but the price is $110 for the 18 year old. I’m still curious about it.