Tormore 30yo 1988/2019 (43.2%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, 132b): nose: quite textile and herbal at first sniff, it has linen bags, dusty curtain lining and hessian sacks full of herbs (dried oregano, bay leaves). Perhaps it even has gauze, embrocation and old bandages. The second sniff brings newly-unrolled linoleum, oddly enough. The third sniff is earthier, with a dry herbs garden (the garden is dry not the herbs; read again) and drying gardening tools -- yup, a faint metallic touch. The whole ancient garden shed is there. I was expecting a floral and chocolate-y nose, but it is not that at all! Elegant, but rustic. Very rustic. Mouth: oily texture that carries some of the flowers I expected in the nose. Herbs are here, fresher, but shyer (fresh oregano, marjoram and sage), gardening tools (with less earth and more metal, this time), then something toasted, in the back of the throat, though it is more burnt toast, overdone cake and pipe tobacco than coffee grounds, I am relieved to note. Perhaps it has a gentle sweetness, as in: smoked-plum compote. Finish: creamy and a little chocolate-y, the finish brings more of what I expected, with bitter dark chocolate, crushed Brazil nuts (skins included), brown mustard seeds and a drop of coffee. The first time I tried this, I had rubber in the finish, but not today. I suppose that the toasted wood is hard to miss, and liquorice root is distant but present, but earthy chocolate comes out more, with a serving of prunes on the side, dry, softly drying, and very good. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SW)
Tormore 30yo 1988/2019 (47.9%, Cadenhead Small Batch, 3 x Bourbon Hogsheads, 462b, 19/27): it turns out that I took detailed notes for this one last year. Let me see... Nose: at first, it feels like a different whisky altogether, much bolder, boisterous, even, with floral notes by the wheelbarrow -- honeysuckle, lilac, heather. And then, I realise that is the hand cream. :-) Removing the hand-cream factor, this is the same whisky as in June. See notes from last year. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, SW)That was a bit of a damp squib. Might have to do another one today...
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