A distillery that I have a newfound affinity for is Tobermory. So I was intrigued when I found a 24yo independent bottling, ostensibly similar to the official 24yo that had earned a ❤️. Curiously, this 1994 vintage was bottled already in 2019 and the casks seems to have been shared between Spirit Stock (my version) and Scotch Single Malt Circle. Judging by review dates, the SpSt bottle would’ve been available somewhere in Germany at least in 2020, but it would seem some stock has only become available much later, as I’ve seen it pop up in a number of online shops (as ‘neu’ on Dein Whisky and ‘Vorbestellbar’ at Malt Maniac) only this autumn. One encounters rather uniformly the ‘sale price’ of €184.90, down from €229, which is the de facto standard price for this re-release. Maybe this is enough to suspect trouble? But the WB rating for both bottlings are really good: 88.60 with 59 votes for MC, and 89.35 for SpSt. (By the way, a curious test of the consistency of WB scored given the liquid is here identical). So when I had the chance on Black Week to apply an additional 10% off on my Malt Maniac shopping basket, I got not one but two bottles. One for (hopefully) enjoying now, the other for holding on to. I mean, €166 for a 24yo single cask Tobermory, fully sherry cask matured, and with good WB rating? Feels almost too good to be true in the current market.
Once I got the bottles, I noticed that one of them had the signs of a removed label. Was this one bottle relabelled, or the whole batch? Why? And was there another label design on there, maybe since 2019? The mystery…
Well, now it’s time to settle another question. What will be my first tasting impression of this whisky? Following my new approach to opening bottles, I give here a preliminary review of the ‘neck pour’ with the idea of re-reviewing the bottle over the year(s) as the fill level sink ever lower.
Tobermory | 24yo (1994) | 55.3% | Spirit Stock
🌐
🪵
🔆
💲
🔗
Scotch single malt
sherry butt
unchillfiltered & natural color
€185 (Germany, Dec 2023); I paid €166
Bottle First Impression
⚡Experience
Red fruits (strawberry, grapes) and ginger ale, mix with slightly dirty and smoky, earthy (dunnage, hay), and coastal (kelp, wet stones) notes. Great balance of cask and spirit influence here. Delivers on the palate precisely what the nose promises, but it’s too spicy neat for my preference, though it becomes a little softer with water. Long finish with sultanas and dried gooseberries.
💡Thoughts
Definitely very good whisky, but because of the spiciness I’m not entirely sold on it. I do think there is potential to mellow with time and perhaps claim a favourite award. The flavour range is definitely there, with a fine balance of the cask and distillery character, which is the hallmark of great whisky.
Worthwhile and Enjoyable
DuckDrams 
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