Tomatin 11yo Woodrow’s of Edinburgh
Single Cask | 57.8% ABV
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Coconut? Please, sir, can I have some more?
A hunt for Lasagna
For a year, sometime in the late 1990s, I embarked upon the mission of finding the perfect Lasagne recipe. Not religiously, I should add, just as something to do.
The pursuit began after a dinner in Royal Hillsborough, Northern Ireland. What was odd (for me) about this dinner was that I chose the vegetarian option: a spinach, courgette, ricotta and pine nut lasagna. My memory is slightly hazy – it was nearly thirty years ago – but I remember the dish being absolutely delicious. Northern Ireland then, as it does now, offered a very high standard of food from its restaurants – surprisingly so for such a small nation. That vegetarian lasagna set me on a quest for flavour, wrapped in pasta and topped with white sauce and cheese.
For the next six to nine months, I arranged many dinners by traipsing across the island in search of a better lasagna. One particular trip to Dublin resulted in what remains the worst lasagna I’ve ever had – and the worst service I’ve ever received in Ireland. But don’t worry, any Irish cousins, I know the country well enough not to judge you by a rogue restaurant in your capital.
In my search, I even studied ingredients, buying them from delis and specialist retailers (back before today’s internet, and Amazon didn’t yet exist), and I had limited success creating my own versions.
This went on for so long that eventually I went back to the restaurant in Royal Hillsborough and ordered the lasagna again. Sadly, the recipe had changed, and I didn't experience the same euphoria as on my first visit.
I realise that this is a weird topic, and I might be overplaying quite how important the search was during this period. I bring it up because, for the most part, I have rarely eaten lasagna over the last twenty years or so since then. It’s not a particularly healthy meal, and I actually prefer my pasta dishes without a white sauce. But in a supermarket in Tuscany this July, I noticed they sold store-made lasagna, which isn’t something I’d see in any British supermarket, so bought enough for the family. It was epic and immediately brought back the exploration period described above. It also reminded me that the wonder of our hedonistic lives is the search and discovery of flavour. And I don’t just mean flavour in terms of taste; I use the term to describe everything that brings us joy. This is why we travel, experience new cultures, meet new people, try new things and so on and so forth. This is also what I believe draws us together in the whisky-drinking world.
We are always seeking that perfect dram, in the full knowledge - as I learned with my search for the perfect lasagna – that perfection is impossible. In many ways I continue that tradition for the perfect Gin and Tonic (my trick is to add a splash of Amaro Montenegro), although I rarely mix my whisky with anything other than water. Back to my point, the hunt is always on for the next flavour, the next revelation – it is what keeps me coming back year after year to the festivals, to the bottlers, distilleries and producers.
Whatcha got? What flavour trip are you going to send me on.
Review
Tomatin 11yo, Woodrow’s of Edinburgh, refill ex-bourbon hogshead, put into wood: 03/09/2014, bottled: 20/07/2026, Cask no: 300931, 57.8% ABV
£70 paid & wide availability
All of which brings me smoothly onto the whisky in today’s review. We all have a certain profile that tickles our tonsils, and I am a sucker for those coconut-vanilla monsters that occasionally surface – with perhaps a great lean towards the coconut rather than the vanilla.
I picked up from Charlie’s piece that the Macallan Harmony supposedly has coconut (I can’t recall ever getting coconut from a sherry-matured whisky, but I don’t have an incredible memory for such things). This led me to pick out a recently purchased Tomatin 11-year-old from Woodrow’s of Edinburgh. I was chatting to Woody at the Newcastle Indy Whisky Festival when he asked if I wanted a good, honest Tomatin – whisky-folk chat for ‘refill ex-Bourbon oak’ and frankly I did. One sip was enough for me, and I bought a bottle.
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Coconut? Please, sir, can I have some more?
Nose
The coconut is immediate and lies on top of candied fruits; apricots, nectarines – even a hint of pineapple and mango. It has an icing sugar sweetness that keeps all the fruit notes sweet and adds a biscuity note to the whole nose. It is as if someone has blended a macaroon and fortified it (quite a bit).
The vanilla notes sit under the above and add a depth of creaminess or weight. There is a slight nose prickle at cask strength – to be expected at that strength. The oak notes are bittersweet but add to the overall effect. With some time in the glass, the nose takes on a buttery quality.
Palate
The palate delivers. At first, the sweetness is subdued, and hints of coconut and fruit begin their ascent across the tongue. The wave of sweet flavours swirls around, and it is hard to pinpoint exactly what is going on. I kind of don’t want to dwell on it too much – the concentration in detecting each tasting note almost takes away from the overall pleasure derived. But the second dram allows much more to come forward: pear drops, barley sugar (boiled sweet heaven) with sweet coconut, and vanilla.
The Dregs
I’ve had more nuanced drams, more tropical-fruit-forward monsters and also those that taste like peach squash. Yet this is one of the most coconut-forward whiskies I’ve had (certainly in a long time), and I vividly recall how this dram cut through so many others I had already tried at the festival.
Sure, at full strength there is a bit of oak-bitterness that leaves the tongue gasping, but a drop or two of water cures it, and then the fruitiness is allowed to shine. I haven't actively been seeking out Tomatin for a while, but this bottling has changed my mind, and I’ll keep a keen eye out for more. Well done Woodrow’s – once again proving that IB’s can change people’s minds about distilleries.
Now, what are your tips for the perfect lasagne?
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. FF
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