Whiskeytemple_Vladimir 
Оценка: 87-88/100. Цена: около 100 лв.
Tormore 16 y.o. single malt whisky
In the following lines I’ll present you a whisky almost unknown in Bulgaria, which comes from Tormore distillery. It started operating a little more than 60 years ago – built in 1960, as its construction began two years earlier /in the early postwar period of strong demand for whisky/. Located in the Speyside region of Scotland, approximately 1 km south of the River Spey, which is a clean water source for many of the distilleries in the region.
Initially was owned by Schenley International company /known as Long John Distillers/, which had intentioned it to supply malt component for their Long John blends /a mixture of malt and grain distillates/, which can be found in Bulgaria. Although not so famous here, in Scotland it is known by the nickname „the Pearl of Speyside“. It is due to the fact that in the waters of the River Spey, around the distillery, still can be found freshwater pearl mussel, which except that indicates the clarity of the water, has also helped it earn this byword. The building itself was designed by famous Scottish architect /Sir Albert Richardson/, as its foundations consist of solid granite slabs and the clock tower plays a different Scottish song/melody every 15 minutes /I remember that in my childhood a similar mechanism was functioning in my birthplace – Veliki Preslav, where I was spending careless summers, and every hour the clock on the downtown square was playing „Along The Bosphorus“ – a great song, that unfortunately seems no longer relevant/. An interesting information that i came across was that designers have paid special attention to the fountain and garden around the distillery, which also includes a long, rectangular pond. The idea was that during winter time the traditional Scottish game of curling could be played. But someone has disregarded that the functioning of distillers generates a lot of heat, which in turn frustrated the gaming plans and so far no one has pushed the „saucepan“ on the ice. In the 70’s, the ownership of the distillery changed, when it was acquired by Allied Distillers Ltd. In 1991 they introduced the „Caledonian Malts“, a series of four malt whiskies – Glendronach, Laphroaig, Miltonduff and Tormore, as an equivalent to the Diageo’s „Classic Malts“ range. In 2005, the distillery was bought by Chivas, which are currently part of the Pernod Ricard „family“, which in turn means only one thing – focusing much of the produced malt for the Chivas Regal and Ballantine`s blends. After this chain of cause-effect relations I got thirsty.
Around the catalogues in our sites, I’ve seen the 12-year-old distillate marketed by Chivas, which comes in cobalt blue box. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve planned. Now on the agenda is Tormore 16 y.o. single malt whisky, which is aged in American oak casks, bottled at 48% ABV and non-chill filtered /you can read more about the essence of the process in the „Chill filtration“ section, in the blog/. Unfortunately, E150a coloring is added to this whisky, but in this case it wasn’t so important, because the whisky surprised me pleasantly /although it’s supposed to be peaty, I found no traces of peat/.
Aroma – strong fruity and very pleasant liquorness, mixed with honey, Turkish delight, dried plums and apricots, sweetness, herbs, a note of „cabinet“, caramelized sugar, which increases under the influence of air, peaches, pumpkin pie, walnut pie, the sweetness is clearly perceptible, herbal tea bags, sherry /this is odd, having in mind that it is matured in ex-bourbon barrels, but this was my association/. I added some water, after which a huge caramel bomb „exploded“ /including caramelized fruits/, pears and cappuccino. Taste – initially dry, then honey sweetness, wax, weak pepperness /cinnamon and nutmeg/, manifested by a pleasant tingling on the tip of the tongue /at the first one or two sips I hold the liquid on my mouth, as many seconds as the age of the whisky is/, dried fruits, a memory of herbal tea again, and even more sweetness with the second sip. With water – piquancy, fruity sweetness and woodiness. Finish – medium to long, toasted cake, buttery, but also dry, light sweetness, which developed, raisins, nuts /raw/, a memory of wine, slight bitterness. With water – woodiness, bitterness, honey and more buttery.
Assessment: 87-88/100.
