We’ve got an absolute beast of a bourbon aged Speyside whisky ready for May. This month we are featuring a Tormore 13 year old as our ‘Malt of the Month’.
The Nose is instantly all you would expect from American oak. A big vanilla cloud enveloping a cornucopia of summer fruit. There’s citrus, melon, pineapple, a merange type sweetness and is that coconut-rough in there too?
All in all it does exactly what it sets out to do – give a textbook example of American oak aged whisky. No surprises. Exactly what it says on the bottle. If you like a bourbon aged whisky – you’ll like this whisky.
TORMORE 13 YEAR OLD – DISTILLERS NOTES
Bottle Size : 700ml
ABV : 43% abv
Region : Scotland – Speyside
Peated : No
Aroma: Fruity and lively: abundant tropical fruit notes of pineapple, grapefruit, coconut, and freshly squeezed lime weave with hints of freshly cut grass and toasted malt.
Taste: Creamy, the sweetness of the vanilla, velvety milk chocolate, and baked apple are perfectly balanced by zesty citrus peel. Undertones of plump apricot and juicy mango develop.
Finish: Delightfully delicate with gentle lingering herbal tones finish with nuances of charred oak.
ABOUT THE DISTILLERY
Tormore is a Speyside distillery, which is located approximately 1 km south of the River Spey. Its water source is the Achvochkie Burn. The Tormore is one of the younger Scottish whiskies, the distillery construction began in 1958 and was completed in 1960. It was the first new distillery to be built in the country in the 20th century. Designed by Sir Albert Richardson for Long John International, it is a listed building, and one of the most architecturally striking distilleries. The building is made of granite, has copper rotors and a clock which plays 4 different Scottish songs each quarter of an hour. A village of workers houses were built in the same style, which was up for sale in its entirety in 2004, for offers over £550,000. The topiary hedges in the garden are also clipped to the shape of a bell or still.
In 1972, the distillery was expanded from four to eight stills. These were converted to be heated by wood chips in 1984, a by-product of the area’s forestry industry. Long John was absorbed by Whitbread & Co in 1975, and the distillery was acquired by Allied Distillers Ltd the same year. The Tormore distillery has been controlled by Pernod-Ricard since they purchased Allied Domecq in 2005. A time capsule in the shape of a pot-still is buried in the forecourt, which is intended to be opened in 2060. It contains glasses and a tregnum of Long John, the original owners’ own blended whisky. Sadly, the bulk of whisky produced by Tormore is used in blending Chivas Regal these days.
This months whisky is distilled by the Tormore distillery, but has been oaked and aged by our old friends at Gordon and MacPhail. This is a 13yo spirit aged in first fill bourbon casks. The casks have been selected for blending based on the desire to highlight the ‘typical’ fruity, vanilla, dry qualities that could be said to define a ‘Bourbon aged whisky’.
