Review #118 - Tamdhu 12 Year
12 Year Speysider Series: Part 4 of 7
Another sherried Speyside whisky, and a distillery that's known specifically for that style - Tamdhu, and their 12 year entry. This is actually another exclusively sherry matured whisky as well, as opposed to the common double cask or finished whisky - it's proudly emblazoned on the top of the label in shining foil text.
Like the Macallan we looked at recently, this is another brand that is clearly leaning heavily into their style to justify premium reputation, and the resulting premium pricing. Actually, this isn't terribly expensive (yet) - we bought it last year for $66, which isn't cheap, but maybe middle of the road for a 12 year old Scotch in today's market. How will it measure up against those other competitors that are in a similar price bracket?
Tamdhu 12 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 66 (2022)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 67 (2023)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 43% ABV
Cask Makeup: Sherry casks
Details: No color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 3 months; bottles at 100%, 70%, 70% (blind tasting), and 50% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A little bit reserved, with a darker cask complexion but also some sharp, musty spirit influence. The sherry aging shows up as orange, dry fig, and plums; there are some blanched nuts and nutmeg, as well as cinnamon, pointing in the direction of some possible European oak casks. We find a lighter side of vanilla, lemon, and orange wine at times, but it's soon back to dark chocolate, pecans, and woody red wine. Despite all of the flavors, this remains subtle, never too strong when wafting out of the glass.
Palate: Medium-thin body - the dilution is noticeable, though there are still plenty of intricately layered flavors to dig through. It starts with caramel and grapes, but we're soon into dried fig, cinnamon, spiced oak, and 'Christmas spice' - the hallmarks of the sherry aging. It's sweeter now, too, with brown sugar and cherries, some tinned fruit like pineapple, but that's balanced by more pepper and bitter orange rind. Near the end, we get dark roast coffee and milk chocolate.
Finish: Medium length, soft and silky, but a little thin. Mildly cozy with soft oak and dark fruits of plum and prune, along with a hint of clove and pepper. There are chocolate covered strawberries and some candied orange slices, along with a sharp lemon.
Final Note: Again, the cardinal sin in these entry level Speyside whiskies seems to be low strength and heavy filtration - the mouthfeel just isn't there, and while there are some pleasant flavors to dig into, it struggles to deliver any sort of punch. Good if you're looking for a casual, easy sip, but we're looking for a little more than that in our reviews. The other item we can't pass on mentioning is the packaging... a little over the top, in this case. Yeah, the tall, art deco bottle looks nice and sparkles in the light, and the big semi-open box it arrived in looks 'cool,' but in this case, we would rather have no box and a simpler bottle if it could take $10 off the price.
Our Average Rating: 6.3 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.19
