Tobermory 12yo
Official bottling | 46.3% ABV
Going Against The Flow
With our highly interconnected digital world seemingly occupying a parallel realm to our own, it can be quite easy to be pulled towards the central mass, conforming to the consensus of those around us, both from our physical interactions and digital alter-egos whispering in our ear with targeted ads and suggested content.
At the detailed level, we are all separated and defined by many factors, including cultural, familial, economic, professional, and educational aspects; however from the 50,000-foot perspective, some general groupings or localizations can be observed.
There are those that generally go along with the flow of their life, generally avoiding significant conflict, risk, or other manner of uncomfortable experiences. These types of people generally occupy the largest portion of our population. Running counter to this group are the mavericks, the risk takers, the gregarious few who don’t mind mixing things up significantly or often, or both even. These people generally represent the smallest portion of our population.
Now this is obviously an extremely monochromatic and simplified view of the very colourful rainbow that makes up our world however it can be applied to all manners of situations, both personally and professionally. I’ve got friends that avoid conflict wherever possible while I also have friends that have no issues uprooting themselves and doing an about-face 180 and seeing where that decision takes them. I hold no fault to any of them but acknowledge their uniqueness when conversing with them, not ruffling their feathers depending on which camp they may fall into.
This same logic can easily be applied, and dare I say found, within the global whisky community. With the prevalence of social media hype-beast influencers and seemingly endless number of local and global whisky awards, it’s quite easy to start following the masses. We could say this has happened with Springbank, with the buzz surrounding the ethanolic beverage at a sustained multi-year fervour that is driving in-store shortages, secondary price inflation, and all around romanticised enamour with this traditional distillery. I’ve even been in circles where people are actively talking about how great Campbeltown whiskies are and how quality Springbank et. al are but when pressed, they’ve really only had the Kilkerran 12. While far from a mediocre dram, it was easy to see how the en masse Campbeltown/Springbank buzz was affecting their perceptions or social behaviours.
That brings us to Tobermory 12 (affectionately called the “Tob 12” by yours truly). When the Arran 10 won the 2021 entry single malt, and the 2022 and 2023 best value single malt in the OSWAs, I was quite surprised at the outset. Surprised because I thought there might have been more alternatives and even a few proper contenders that should have put up more of a fight. After pondering, it was more obvious why.
Arran, despite being only a few decades old, has been on a mission, getting as many core range and unique bottlings into as many markets as possible. More whiskies in the hands of customers and influencers/voters, the more likely you are to win a crowd-sourced award like the OSWAs. Tobermory, much like Springbank, has much smaller distribution and availability. While Tobermory hasn’t experienced the social media fuelled glamour that Springbank has (they make good stuff, don’t get me wrong!), in my opinion, they should have been at least on the podium.
So going against the populace, I generally recommend the Tob 12 whenever I can. It has the same makeup as the Arran and offers several different facets that someone might enjoy more. Let’s dig in with two opinions on two different batches, shall we?
Review 1/2 - Broddy
Tobermory 12yo, Official bottling, 46.3% ABV
CAD$72 (£42) wide availability
Bottle code: 2217688L509:24 21068 - whatever that means, c’mon Distell, use some human numbers not machine code! This isn’t the matrix. Sincerely, humankind.
While the bottle doesn’t state it, this is a fully natural coloured and non-chill filtered whisky (via Tobermory’s website) dumped from ex-bourbon barrels.
Nose
Bags of malty oranges and light caramel sauce bordering on Werther’s butterscotch candy. The vast majority of the time, caramel sauce is the predominant note but the butterscotch pops up once in a while. Flitting coconut and white chocolate bounce along a nice underlying syrupy sweetness. Vanilla and pastries from your favourite patisserie. Touch of dried apricot and mango. There’s a light touch of citrus sourness on the nose that ensures this isn’t just an ex-bourbon sweety bomb.
The nose is soft and rounded, hiding the enthusiast focussed 46.3 %ABV well. You can’t escape the interplay between the maltiness and sweetness, and it’s lovely.
Palate
Soft, rounded, and nicely mouth coating. Maltiness and orange are evident, followed by a rush of white chocolate scones and vanilla pastries, before the slightest white pepper tickle occurs before the medium length fade of caramel sauce and indistinct citrus. Individual notes of granola, elderflower liqueur, orange oil, and citrus sourness (aka citric acid) are dotted throughout. Lovely.
The mouthfeel and quality makes me wonder if it is purely 12 years in oak, or if there’s a moderate portion of older stock in the mix here. It is more syrupy and oilier than other ex-bourbon core range 46%-ers (Arran 10 and Glencadam 10 for example) so if mouthfeel is important to you (like me!) and are finding others perhaps a bit thin, then you should perhaps give the Tob 12 a shot.
The Dregs
Arran vs Tobermory. 10 yo vs 12 yo. 46% vs 46.3% ABV. Ex-bourbon vs. ex-bourbon. The headline title fight between Tobermory and the repeat OSWA winner.
If I was the referee or the hit counter of the match, I would go against the populist choice and raise Tobermory’s bottle in victory.
To my preferences, I reach for the Tobermory 12yo over the Arran 10yo. While very enjoyable, I find the Arran to be more peppery and tingly, providing a slight distraction on the palate. The nose is more effuse, tingly, and generic citrus while the Tobermory is more distinct, saucier (caramel), and maltier.
I’m really splitting hairs here and this is entirely based on my preferences of course. If you’ve got an Arran 10 on your shelf, I will offer an enthusiastic “yes please!” when asked if I would like a pour. But if you’ve got both on your shelf, I’ll be reaching for my comfort Tob 12 preference. Now it might be a fair fight between the Tob 12 and the Arran Quarter Casks but that’s a match for another day.
For the score portion, this is very nearly a 7/10. Like so very close. When looking at my other 7-scoring whiskies here on Dramface, they each had a specific nuance, x-factor, or hook that pushed them through the threshold. The Tob 12 just doesn’t quite have that extra little something, yet. Perhaps if I were to wish upon a shooting star or write a letter to jolly old St. Nick, I’d wish for a 15-18 yo ex-bourbon release from Tobermory. Rather than fettering about with sherry casks and fortified wine cask finishes at the older age statements which Distell seems to be overly fond of, why can’t we get a longer aged version of this lovely dram, even just to compare against the finished releases?
A question for the suits at the long table I guess but perhaps I shouldn’t hold my breath since they live and breathe bottle batches in machine code…
Score: 6/10 BB
Review 2/2 - Aengus
Tobermory 12yo, Official bottling, 46.3% ABV
CAD$102 (£60) wide availability
Bottle code: 2282516L513:12 21245
I’ve enjoyed pretty much every Tobermory that I’ve bought thus far, and that’s a few bottles of the official 12yo now and one independently bottled 12yo. So much that I bought a couple bottles to be served at my recent wedding alongside a selection of other malts put together as a sort of introduction to scotch tasting. Tobermory is a dram that is often unfairly overshadowed by its more popular stablemate, the Ledaig 10 year old. No flashy peaty goodness here, just an honest maritime pour.
It’s a beautiful golden honey colour in the bottle and glass. I know from internet rumours, that Tobermory distillery never colours their whisky although it isn’t stated anywhere on the label. Why don’t they just say so?
Nose
Nice nose. The label doesn’t lie here, which states: “gently sweet, unpeated and floral”. Cereal grain sweetness, salty maritime breeze, and lightly floral indeed.
Palate
The palate is where things take a turn. It is dense and challenging - not in a good way. Round and sweet on the sides of the tongue. Honey ham with orange and cloves. Hot lemon water. Wet wool, lanolin. Stale, woody cinnamon finish. Adding water makes things worse and accentuates the stale finish.
The Dregs
I must say I’m disappointed by this batch. My first dud of a Tobermory. This one is hard to drink, the opposite of moreish. If I had tasted it blind I would have assumed it was a 3 year old from a new craft distillery still yet to find their legs. Barely scraping into 4 territory for me, the nose saves it from a 3.
After enjoying several bottles of both Tobermory 12 and Ledaig 10 over the last few years, they have become somewhat of an insta-buy for me when they hit shelves in my province, usually once a year. I know from past bottlings that batch variation is real and this variation can be seen in colour changes as well from batch to batch. This experience doesn’t put me off the distillery’s entry level, but I’ll be more cautious in the future, still remembering that the last batch of Ledaig 10 to come around was so exceptionally good that I went back and bought another for safekeeping in my closet.
Score 4/10 AMc
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB
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