21/10/2025 Tormore at the SMWS

We are back again for this evening during which Sukhinder Singh will promote his distillery.

Not all of the regulars are here, but, of course, JS, PS, GT and Dr. CD are.

Tormore 10yo (48%, OB Blueprint Cask Program Official Pre-Release, Bourbon Barrels, 1500b)

Nose: well, this is pretty herbaceous, with dried rosemary and lots of citrus foliage (bergamot, kumquat, Ugli fruit). But it also has a distinct sweetness: lemon drops and crystallised citrus segments. Lovely. The second nose welcomes toffee and fudge.
Mouth: crisp and citrus-y, it has a growing metallic-herbaceous touch. We find more dried rosemary, but also dried thyme, now -- lemon thyme, in fact. The second sip is fairly neutral. Lemon juice, maybe?
Finish: yes, it is light, crisp, citrus-y, zesty, even, with only a light bitterness.  Some foliage, dried orange peels and pith turning stiff. The second gulp has more kick and more Bourbon character: custard and light toffee. Water renders the finish a little too close to windscreen-cleaning liquid. 7/10

Tormore 10yo (48%, OB Blueprint Cask Program Official Pre-Release, Cream Sherry Casks, 1500b)

Nose: entirely different. Here are cosmetic powder and cinnamon buns. Another sniff and it has chocolate truffles and a strange, lingering, woman's perfume, earthy, fragrant, vibrant, while also light. The second nose has a hint of chalk. Water adds nutshells to the lot.
Mouth: creamy, light. This is chocolate custard with a splash of fruity red wine. It has some wood spices (cinnamon powder, crushed cardamom), and berries (dark cherries). The second sip is full-on berry cereals with chocolate milk. Water brings out nutshells more on the palate too.
Finish: warming, it is custard-y with berries and tame wood spices. There is a lingering chocolate-y note, enhanced with a drop of red wine again. A drop of water adds a bitterer lick, including gherkin brine. 7/10

JS [to PS]: "Wait! Is that a second phone you have?"
PS: "Yes."
JS: "A mistress phone!"
PS [pointing at tOMoH]: "For the last time, I'm not his mistress."

Tormore 15yo 2009/2025 (55.2%, OB Legacy Casks Official Pre-Release, First Fill Bourbon Barrel, C#44036, 197b)

Nose: much ampler, of course, it has blotting paper stained with berry juice. A couple of sniffs in, it becomes very fruity, with a mix of cherries, red apples and glossy chestnuts (the husk is glossy, not the fruit).
Mouth: juicy, it rolls out peach, nectarine, then cured peach and mulled wine. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, galangal. The second sip has plum liqueur (not umeshu), and chocolate milk augmented with pressed plums and an assertive alcohol kick.
Finish: big, long, woody in a good way. Hot almonds, cinnamon cream. The second gulp is creamy and berry-laden, with a touch of cinnamon dough (cinnabuns waiting to be baked). Water does not suit it. It makes the finish sharper. 8/10

PS: "The kind of wood I like."
tOMoH: "Imma treat your wood with nettles!"
PS: "If I don't see that on your blog, I'll be disappointed."

Tormore 21yo 2003/2025 (48.4%, OB Legacy Casks Official Pre-Release, First Fill Bourbon Barrel, C#647, 226b)

Nose: this is the closest to our first dram's nose. Verbena, thyme, citrus and citrus foliage. Later, it is cosmetic powder on oilcloth. And oilcloth becomes the distinguishing feature.
Mouth: oh! wow. This is so citric. Tangerine, kumquat, mandarines. It has an acidic touch, some bitterness and a kick of tropical fruit, after a moment. Later yet, it is jammy AF. Total marmalade goodness.
Finish: long, it has a mix of chocolate, dark citrus and faint tropical fruit. It is both creamy and warm, though it does peddle bitterness at the death. This is my favourite of the lot. 8/10

Sukhinder tells the room how cream Sherry is a blend of Oloroso and PX.

JS: "I don't think I can appreciate cream Sherry, really, until I've tried is as a gelato flavour."

Sukhinder talks about Portintruan.

GT: "Is it true that you put a still there to make some rum?"
SS: "Shush!"
tOMoH: "I guess that's a no, then. Wink-wink."

105.44 35yo d.1988 Honey jam (48.1%, SMWS The Vaults Collection, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 218b)

Nose: elegance personified. Jellied peaches and apricot jam.
Mouth: jammy, it has a lick of metal, as well as wood, in the long run.
Finish: long, warming, jammy again. Orange marmalade, including the tin lid of the jar.
Comment: brief notes. To paraphrase my not-favourite person, we have had this thrice over the past couple of months. It is the best dram of the line-up, but it is also déjà-vu and it impresses me less, tonight. 8/10

Sukhinder introduces his team.

Jason Vaswani: "I'm head-buyer for old & rare."
Punter: "I think I saw you at The Whisky Show."
tOMoH: "I think you'll find it's Whisky Show, without definite article."

Sukhinder almost chokes to death trying to repress a laugh with a mouth full of whisky.

There is more? Of course! Elixir Distillers, proprietary of Tormore, also have a variety of collections as an independent bottler. Sukhinder brought entries from The Whisky Trail range. We try these blind.

Dram #6

Nose: earthy, it soon comes across as smoky, sandy and a little sweet. It could be Caol Ila, though I do not think so. The second nose brings ironed linen.
Mouth: JS calls it funky and detects body odour. For me, it has sweet hay juice and it builds up red chilli in the long run. The tip of the tongue is really assaulted.
Finish: earthy toffee, sticky toffee pudding. The second quaff has a gentle sweetness and a milky feel.
Comment: we are asked to guess. Some go for Australia, some say Kavalan. I venture The Lakes -- "Don't be silly," the answer fuses. This is okay.

White Peak 7yo 2018/2025 (52.4%, Elixir Distillers The Whisky Trail, 4 x New Bourbon Barrels, 1254b) 7/10

Dram #7

Nose: this smells like a rye-and-a-half. Corn syrup, ripe apples, perhaps candied apples, and blue cioccolato colorato. There is also a lot of warm plastic at play, and Irn Bru -- it is a rye, is it not? In the long run, it becomes water infused with wood oil.
Mouth: wood oil is right! This is very woody and oily indeed, with all the heady esters that come with that.
Finish: hot Irn Bru, sweet corn syrup, and a lick of a hot radiator.
Comment: merely a curiosity for this taster. Many guesses (including my own Inchdairnie), none right. Upon reveal, I note that I have never even heard of this Danish distillery.

Thy 4yo 2020/2025 (50.5%, Elixir Distillers The Whisky Trail, 4 x New American Oal Quarter Casks, 645b) 6/10

The staff brings us another dram, courtesy of Dr. CD.

70.62 10yo d.2013 Honey and dragon fruit sangria (60.8%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 204b)

Nose: plasticine, then rubbery earth or clay.
Mouth: this is totally plasticine, plastic-y, reminiscent of oilcloth.
Finish: long and fruity to a point that is tickling vulgarity.
Comment: it does the trick, but I am properly toasted, now. So much so I do not even realise we had this for Burns' Night. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, Dr. CD)

Good night out. Too much to drink, though, as usual.