Spirit Name:
Spirit Type:
Rating:
|
Tamdhu 1969 Vintage
34 Year Old (D&T)
Single malt
 |
Score:
|
81/100
|
ABV:
|
40%
|
Region:
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Speyside, Scotland
|
Body:
|
Medium
|
Intensity:
|
Medium
|
Texture:
|
Medium-oily
|
Balance:
|
Good
|
Best served:
|
Neat
|
Theme(s):
|
An energetic and sharp whisky with a big bitter oak dominated character
that skews the balance, though it does offer a fascinating and complex nose
|
Tasting notes:
|
Tamdhu was once closed, but now it is churning out whisky under the
banner of Ian MacLeod Distillers. This particular expression is an
independent bottling of a 1969 vintage by Duncan & Taylor and so it is a great opportunity
to peer into the past of Tamdhu’s production before it died… and then rose
from the grave. During my blind tasting I did not know the age of this whisky, but it did seem a little overcooked. Now I know it is 34 years old.
Nose: Light, fresh and crisp. There are shimmers of cereal
amidst the tart, oak laden, fruit that bring a sharp bite of ethanol.
Softened by chocolate fudge and vanilla, the gentle aroma of coconut fills
the glass almost like lamington as black forest cake develops with cream and
sour cherries.
Taste: Bitter, sharp and difficult to capture. Ethanol
radiates from the palate with notes of cocoa and bitter melon towards the
finish. The bitterness takes over towards the end, indicating a whisky that
is old and tired. I find this whisky quite one dimensional and oaked to the
rafters.
Finish: Have you ever bitten into an under-ripe peach or
tried bitter melon? This had a similar, dry and tart, finish though of course
not as intense thanks to the sugars which act as a counterbalance.
|
Likes:
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Complex nose, sharp and crisp
|
Dislikes:
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Skewed to the bitter side, big oak influence particularly on the finish
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