{"product_id":"tomatin-14-year-old","title":"Tomatin 14 Year Old","description":"\u003cp\u003eTomatin makes a lighter, unpeated style of whisky that showcases the softer side of the Highlands. You may’ve seen their quirky ad campaign to match the softer side reputation, with burly Scotmen alongside fluffy pooches and Highland cattle in winter booties, as posted on our Facebook page recently. The late, great whisky writer Michael Jackson described their softer ‘malty, spicy and rich’ style as ‘either restorative or for after dinner’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe distillery operates twelve stills (each with a capacity of 16,800 litres), twelve stainless steel washbacks (each with a 7000 litre capacity) and a one 8-tonne Lautner tun. Tomatin was the first distillery to switch from the traditional mash tun, which uses rakes to turn the barley, to a Lauter mash-tun, which employs the use of rotating knives to improve the extraction of soluble starch from the barley.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile traditionally selling the vast majority of its whisky to third-party blenders, since 2002 the distillery’s main focus has been on producing single malt and today more than twenty percent of their whisky is bottled as premium single malt. The balance is used for blending, mainly for their own brands, which include Antiquary, Legendary Scot and Talisman. Tomatin have also recently begun making lightly peated single malt called Cù Bòcan, production of which takes place over a seven-week period each year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe distillery boasts one of the strongest core range of single malts in Scotland, borne out by exceptional results as for example in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible with the Legacy bringing in 94.5 points, 12 Year Old 91.5 points, 18 Year Old 92.5 points, 1988 Vintage 95.5 points and the 36 Year Old romping home with 96.5 points. Jim also rated our whisky this month, the 14 Year Old Port Cask Finish, as brilliant, scoring 92.5 in the Whisky Bible. It’s a textbook end-of-night dram and you’d struggle to find a better example of an exceptionally well done Port wood finish. The whisky spends an initial 12 years maturing and mellowing in refill American oak ex-bourbon casks before undergoing a further two year maturation in first-fill casks, sourced from Symington Family Vineyards in Portugal’s Upper Duoro Valley, that had previously held their tawny port for 50 years. Graham Eunson, Tomatin’s head distiller has done a splendid job creating a powerful, balanced and textured whisky displaying ample lashings of strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, baked apple with cinnamon and nutmeg, red berries, raisins and of course rich toffee and butterscotch for good measure. A surge in global demand for this remarkable dram has totally depleted the distillery’s stocks, with no more available until late 2018. Fortunately we had our finger on the pulse and were in time to secure a whopping share of this liquid gold for the Club’s enjoyment in an Australian exclusive import.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tomatin Distillery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46489903562831,"sku":"WC0058","price":120.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0722\/1185\/7487\/files\/tomatin_14_year_old_port_cask_finish.png?v=1787700906","url":"https:\/\/thewhiskyclub.com.au\/products\/tomatin-14-year-old","provider":"The Whisky Club AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}