Tobermory 11 Year Sherry Finish
Background
Distilled in November 2007
Bottled in January 2019
Bourbon matured for 9 years and 4 months
Finished in Sherry butts for 22 months
Initially casked at a higher than normal ABV leading to the bottling abv to be 62.4%
This was a distillery exclusive bottling that I imported from the distillery before the pandemic hit. I swore I wouldn't open it unless it was with some awesome people. Fast forward to Boxing day 2022 and the big Homie, King Heathen himself Josh (@knowyourwhisky) visited the DarkCloud Den and it was the perfect time to pop the cork on this bottle.
In The Glass
Honestly when I first opened the packaging on this I thought to myself that the colour was a little light for being almost 2 years in an ex-PX cask. It's a fairly translucent orange colour that's a faint touch darker than standard apple juice. What is truly awesome is the bottom of the bottle is covered in sediment and floaty bits from the cask. In the glass, this dram is extremely oily. Swirling up on the glass makes me super impatient. As I wait for the legs to form, I can already smell the aroma coming from the glass and I now have to clean up a drool pool on the desk in front of me. The legs finally form and they are tiny, numerous and some of the slowest I’ve ever witnessed. Almost 63% abv probably has something to do with this.
Nose
Jimminy Crickets this is one helluva nose. Heavy, funky, dirty, meaty, earthy and fruity all at once. The first thing I noticed is this is funky like a lot of Ledaig usually are but this does not have any peat or smoke present. The earthy funk has a sweet side to it, like a salted caramel. So much funk here and I am ALL FOR IT!! The PX casks show more in a nutty fashion and a slight fruit note but not characteristic fruits, almost a slightly tropical fruit note. This nose is a wild ride and if the palate is anything like it I will devour it and have to pour another for the rest of the review.
Palate
Oh yes, this is a hot little number. No surprise there at a shade under 63%. Right off the hop in the mouth is actually sweetness balancing out the heat from the alcohol. It makes it somewhat more palatable than I would have imagined. Oak and tannins bring the tingle back a bit right alongside that earthy funk. I remember when I first tasted this with Josh we both just looked at each other with stupid shit eating smiles on our faces. I have that same smile right now. This coats the mouth like very few whiskies have done and a cinnamon dusted nuttiness washes over the entire palate. Finally the fruit from the PX starts to come in and it's all syrupy dates and plums. Like a raisin compote heated up with burning matchsticks. Yes there is a sulfur note here, and some may not enjoy it. For me it makes this absolutely mesmerizing. This is abrasive and heavy and dank and everything a funky sherry bomb can be. The finish on this lingers and lingers. As it lengthens it also sweetens with a chocolate raisin note. The cinnamon spice twinkles into the finish as well. This one begs on its knees to be poured again…who am I to deny it, what it wants.
Conclusion
Popping this bottle after it sat sealed on my shelf for almost 3 years was truly special. I had no idea when I bought it, what I was getting. There were zero internet reviews but I knew I loved Tobermory releases and the almost 2 full years in fresh sherry is what made me hit “checkout”. This one won’t be for everyone, and that is totally fine, but those of us that love that dirty dank abrasive style will easily drink this bottle dangerously quick. The fact this one was only tasted with a week left in the year and it came in at the runner up for my overall whisky of the year should say enough.
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