Tamdhu Releases Its First 21-12 months-Outdated Whisky

On the banks of the River Spey within the Scottish Highlands, a family-owned distillery quietly produces ultra-premium whisky aged solely in Oloroso sherry casks from begin to end. Such casks are among the many rarest and costliest on this planet, making this strategy uncommon—however it’s what permits Tamdhu to spotlight the wealthy nuttiness that sherry maturation imparts, a method beloved by whisky connoisseurs.

As we speak, Tamdhu marks a milestone with the launch of its first 21-year-old launch — the oldest bottle in its core assortment. “21 years, in lots of people’s eyes, is a good whiskey to have a good time,” says Gordon Dundas, world model ambassador for Tamdhu and Ian Macleod Distillers’ whiskies. “It’s one thing to get pleasure from. I believe it actually exhibits the range of flavors you may get in sherry casks at age.”

The one malt is the corporate’s most unique core providing so far, with simply 12,000 bottles out there worldwide. Becoming a member of Tamdhu’s vary of 12-, 15-, and 18-year-old whiskies, the 21-year-old expression represents a “coming of age” designed to showcase the depth and mouthfeel achieved by way of prolonged sherry cask maturation.

“By the point you get to 21 years, you’ve received a good bit of air in that cask, so that you’re getting oxidative getting older happening,” Dundas says. “You’ve had a little bit of interplay the place the colours come by way of, and also you additionally construct complexity and taste.”

That further time delivers what Dundas calls a rounder mouthfeel, pure shade, and heightened complexity. Bottled at 47.5% ABV, the whisky’s increased proof amplifies taste, layering sherry-soaked raisins and candied oranges on the palate, whereas the nostril affords chocolate and heat spice.

The casks behind the 21-year-old launch embrace each first-fill and refill Oloroso sherry casks from producers in southern Spain, amongst them the historic bodega Williams & Humbert, established in Jerez in 1877.

The spirit rests in a mixture of European and American oak, a mixture that imparts the sweeter notes typical of American oak alongside “the richer, darker fashion of whiskey with darker fruits and darker tannins,” Dundas says, pointing to the signature affect of European oak.

Although Tamdhu is now recognized for sherry cask getting older, that hasn’t at all times been the case. The distillery has operated since 1897, however it wasn’t till it closed in 2010 and was acquired by Ian Macleod Distillers in 2012 that the model dedicated solely to Oloroso sherry maturation. The transfer, Dundas emphasizes, was pushed by high quality, not revenue margins, and enhances Ian Macleod’s broader portfolio, which additionally contains Glengoyne, Rosebank, and Smokehead.

 “We’re not an enormous company large. We’re not an enormous whisky firm that’s pushed by income,” says Dundas. “What we’re is a whiskey firm that wishes to try to produce one of the best whiskey we will.”

The Tamdhu 21 12 months Outdated is now out there by way of Whole Wine & Extra and different specialist whisky retailers within the U.S. Solely 12,000 bottles exist worldwide, with fewer allotted to American cabinets. Every bottle is priced at $400.