TL:DR: A vanilla bomb, possibly cloying for some, yet an ideal introductory dram for new whisky drinkers
Vote*: 6, Good stuff
*Votes are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
I was not planning to review the Tomatin Legacy next. During the Christmas break, I was in Germany. Looking for a bottle to offer to the non- and new- whisky drinkers, this caught my eye. I had heard about this whisky with some positive reviews here and there (but also some sniffy ones). The price was great it was the one that tickled my curiosity the most and among the rest of the offers on the supermarket shelf. Once I tried, shared it, and saw the reaction of the occasional whisky drinkers, it was very quickly evident it deserved to be reviewed as part of this early chapter of my whisky journey and it fit nicely in the category of discovering cask influence. Even if it meant changing plans. After all, plans are good when they allow some flexibility otherwise they end up being blindfolds.
About Tomatin
Tomatin is a distillery I had not heard much about except for the occasional mention of their special regional releases. It has been operating, with alternating fortunes, since 1897. For a significant time, it was mostly producing spirit for third parties, with production of up to 12 million litres annually. After it went it liquidation, it was acquired by a Japanese consortium headed by the Takara group, in 1986 who remain the owners to date. In the following years, production was severely reduced to concentrate on quality single malt. Production has increased somewhat again, also to allow for the production of a peated range called Cù Bòcan.
The Legacy was launched in 2013 as an entry-level whisky in addition to the age stated range. The spirit is likely quite young and the choice of virgin oak casks as part of the ageing is targeted to provide flavour more rapidly than previously used casks would.
A couple words on Virgin Oak casks
“Virgin Oak” simply means that no other spirit of whisky was aged in these barrels before. These barrels can provide very intense aromas quickly, vanilla first and foremost since vanillin is formed by the interaction of a very common molecule in wood, lignin, and ethanol. Since the wood has not been used with other spirits or wine before the amount of aromatic substances to extract from the wood is significantly higher and the flavour enrichment is quicker if not as refined. Based on the char level on these barrels and the type of wood, the producer can also add a range of other aromas from light to toasted verging on coffee and chocolate.
Tomatin Legacy review
Specs
Price paid: €27.99
Lot/bottled date: 08/1/23
ABV: 43%
Natural colour: No
Non-chill filtered: Not stated but unlikely
Casks used: Bourbon and virgin oak
Tasting notes
Neck pour: The first impression is of a pure vanilla bomb, almost like sticking my nose in vanilla sugar.
Colour: Bright gold, for what it is worth since there is caramel colouring added.
Aromas: It opens overflowing with vanilla, both synthetic and natural, and icing sugar. The smell is young & spirity, but there are some nice accompanying notes. At first pineapple, lemon, mango and a touch of ginger emerge. With 5-10 minutes in the glass, a barley note becomes quite intense. The tropical fruit turns into more of a peach-flavoured gummy candy.
Taste: The mouthfeel is medium. Here the youth of the spirit is more evident and more spicy. The taste is sweet and malty: icing sugar, barley, lemon and vanilla. While it isn’t overly complex it has enough to go on to keep it interesting also on the palate.
Finish: the finish brings back the strong vanilla and icing sugar detected at the start. There are barely notes some lemon and a lingering charred pineapple note with maybe even a hint of coffee.
How does it behave with a drop of water?
On the nose, the addition of some water (about 10%) mellows down the strong vanilla aroma. There is more barley, and the whisky is fresher, there is some golden apple and more noticeable lemon. The taste gains little from the water addition. It gets thinner and a bit more bitter on the finish. I definitely like t more without water.
Conclusions
The Tomatin Legacy is one of those drams that will be reviewed differently based on how you approach it. For more experienced drinkers it is maybe going to be a “just OK”, simple dram that does not deserve more than a glance. Certain aspects are open to criticism. It is evidently a young spirit, the vanilla can be cloying and certainly, it is not a dram you will meditate over. Yet it perfectly occupies a space which seems to be lacking good quality AND affordable options.
For someone getting back into single malt and whisk in general, this is one of those drams we need more of. It is a fun, easy but not boring or flat whisky that will fire up the desire to discover more in novice drinkers, and all that at a fantastic price. So when choosing my score, a good 6/10, I am considering this in the context of entry level drams and also its price.
A little post-review extra
Just for my education, I tried some side-by-side with some Arran 10, while uploading this review. This might be blasphemy to some but I hope informative to others. I was curious to see how the Tomatin Legacy would stand up. I half expected it would be overpowered in both nose and palate, but in reality, on the nose, it was significantly more intense than the Arran 10 to start. With time, during 30 minutes or so, The Legacy became very simple linear while the Arran kept evolving and showing complexity.
On the palate, the Arran 10, at 46%, was more powerful and complex. The Legacy if maybe a bit cloying from all the vanilla, didn’t come across as watery, just as less intense and oily. As expected, the young age of the spirit showed but after all I was comparing a NAS dram to a 10 year old one. Without calling any other bottle out, let’s just say that other whiskies I have already reviewed, didn’t fare so well in the same comparison. Well done Tomatin.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Tomatin Legacy I enjoyed:
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