Watt Whisky Tormore 10yo...

Watt Whisky Tormore 10yo (57.1%): Continuing our Watt Whisky Week in its 3rd day with a young(ish) Tormore. Again Tormore is a distillery we don't see that often on the shelves as a single malt despite of its massive capacity of nearly five million liters of pure alcohol per year. It is a true workhorse for Pernod Ricard which started distilling relatively later in 1959 supplying ow single malt whisky for almost all Pernod blends especially for Ballentine's. I tried only a few expressions before mostly from 90s but have grown quite fond of it especially because of its distinct strong brewed tea notes on the palate. This one is distilled in 2010, matured in a ex-Bourbon hogshead but just before being bottled racked into an ex-Islay cask for a very short period of three months. In the end the cask yielded 287 bottles at cask strength.

Color: Pale straw, young white wine color with a persistent thin ring of tiny teardrops around the glass eventually rolling down slowly as pretty thick legs.

Nose: Pencil shavings, Bartlett pears and roasted sesame seeds. Just a hint of peat but more like a smoke: Burnt rosemary sprigs and burnt sage and drying yellow grass. Matcha and steamed milk. Water works great. Less herbal more floral now: Chamomile flowers, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and a bowl of potpourri. 

Palate: Yep... Here is the tea I was looking/hoping for: Gunpowder green tea, lemongrass and cigarette ash. Burnt sage, purple basil and green peppercorns. After adding water I get all kind of yellow spices: Ground ginger, ground coriander and mustard seeds. Young peated whisky and savory flaky baked goods.

Finish: Quite long with white pepper, lemon pepper and cardamom.

Overall: Another spirit heavy and beautiful whisky. Highly recommended. I absolutely love these reasonably priced oddball releases from Watt Whisky. They all are learning moments: What is Tormore? Is it a pun on Tomatin..? "Tomatin - No More"..? Grab a bottle and sip while googling... Is Glen Spey a made up name or a real distillery? It sure does exist and you should taste it when you have the chance. It might be hard to find one if you pass this opportunity. Thanks for the sample Watts..!

Price: £64

88/100

Comments

Kate Watt said…
Thanks Bozzy - glad you’re enjoying them!
Thanks for letting me to do so...
Chris Barclay said…
Tormore Distillery definitely exists. It is in fact a listed building built in the 1960's and I attach a link.

https://elixirdistillers.com/about/

Yes it is owned by 2 Indian entrapreneurs. They also bought large "slumbering stocks" as well as the buildings and plans to market what they bought and keep making more. They are expert at marketing whisky and have the "infrastructure" in operation. They actually own one of the largest online whisky stores in the world so are not short of a bob or two!

Sukhinder and his brother Rajbir founded The Whisky Exchange, one of the first online whisky specialist retailers and now one of the most important drinks retailers in the world.

I have just sent you enough leads that you could write several articles!
Thanks for your comment Chris. I am well aware about Tormore's current state and actually very excited about its future. But as you can also see this review was posted before Tormore was acquired by Elixir Distillers in 2022. I wish the blog was still active now and I could write a follow up like you have suggested but unfortunately it's on a hibernation mode without any plans to reactivate it. Cheers..!