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Tobermory Distillery
Tobermory, Isle of Mull
Argyll PA75 6NR
+44 1668 302 647

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Owner: Burn Stewart Distillers

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Creation date 1823

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photos

	Tobermory
			Sample
O.B.	10 years	16
	Ledaig	16 2/5
	1972	18
John McDougall	Golden Cask 1996		17
Wilson & Morgan	Wilson & Morgan, Sherry wood 1995	17
Whisky Doris	34 years

 

Tobermory
Age	10 years
Alcohol	40°
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

 

The Tobermory distillery is the only one of the Isle of Mull. It is difficult to compare its whisky to the one of its neighbours. A whisky with character, but not to compare with those of the neighbouring island, Islay. No dominating peat nor smoke. Very fine fragrances and a too short finish. A very interesting experience. An important bottle...  

At the second tasting, the nose was rather discrete, with sweet malty and fruity notes. The taste is marked by ripe sugared fruits (pear or peach). A short finish with some malt hints.

The nose is discrete, revealing some malty and fruity hints, on a slightly smoky background. In the palate, a fruity impression on a woody background, the whole being "washed-out" and whith little character. The finish is rather indifferent, short and essentially marked by slight fruity hints.

 

Comments by Thomas Widter

My tasting experience is a vastly different one from the one already on this page, which is why I would like to share it.
The first tasting brought a sense of harshness, almost like some of the cheaper blended whiskies carry with them - along with a strange taste, somewhat sweet but not quite there. But having had the bottle opened for a while, this Tobermory started growing and growing in a way I have not experienced more radically (well, maybe with an Ardbeg once). It is clearly a Whisky from the islands, as much as it is flowery where the others are salty and fragrant where those are more distinctly down to earth. It has developed a roundness that is spectacular - full of both wind and consistency. I fall in love with that greenish bottle over and over again...
17.5/20

 

Ledaig
Age	No age statement
Alcohol	42°
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

 

Tobermory is the only distillery of Mull. Its malt marketed under the name Ledaig is quite more peaty than the classical Tobermory, without being smoked. A really pleasant experience, with a kind of deception with the too short finish. The taste disappears quickly. As the taste was really nice, this is a pity!  

The second tasting was also rather pleasant, and even if the finish remains to short, the pleasure was predominant this time, and the rating is higher.

The nose detects some sweet fruity and slightly vanilla hints. Remote touches of wood as well. In the palate, the sweet, sugared impression on a peaty background. An evident lack at character, but an interesting fragrances combination. Nuances from ripe fruit to peat, but rather flat, sweetish. It's a pity the whole is rather flat, because this kind of contrasts is amazing and could be pleasant. The syrupy finish is relatively short.

Quite an ordinary nose with very discrete citrus notes are mixed with sweet malty hints. The nose also reveals some fresh smell, somewhere between cut grass and young hay. In the palate, first a slightly bitter attack then some fruity notes, without any depth. The finish is short and insignificant.

Quite an amazing nose. Probably pleasant. A mix of citrus fruits (tangerine) and peat. The fruity aspects seem to be dominant with its sweet acid hints (tangerine)
The palate is rather pleasant, with the same mixes of fruit and peat, a touch of alcohol and a bit of smoke. Not extraordinary, rather linear but far from being unpleasant. The finish is metallic.
Quite short, it does not enhance the whole.

 

Tobermory 1972
Age	35 years
Alcohol	49,7°
Cask	Sherry
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

The nose is clearly smoked, strong smell of smoked ham with clearly marked sherry hints and some peat. In the palate, the first impressions are definitely peated, rather medicinal, very complex. The taste developpes continuously between oily peat and slightly woody notes, though unripe walnut and slightly acid aromas. Nice whole. The finish is long and warm, marked by sherry and peat hints.

The nose is gently smoky and reveals nice hints of sherry and some touches of wet hay on the background.
In the palate, the first impression is an overwhelming of smoke, before developing on very nice sherry notes, wood and meat. Nice complexity, nice balance between the smoothness of sherry and the bitterness of walnuts.
Very lingering finish marked by both by memories of nice woody notes and bitter chocolate but also by sherry. Smoke remains quite present.

Tobermory 1995-2006 Barrel selection
Age	10 years
Alcohol	46°
Cask	Sherry
Bottler	Wilson & Morgan
Price/litre

The nose is rather surprising, and not that pleasant at first, recalling a kind of old wardrobe. Some farm smells as well, where animal hints seem to be mixed to straw, earth and a touch of sherry. In the palate, this whisky is quite complex, with slightly bitter notes mixing with malty ones, before developing on a more acid register, but this musty feeling remains. The finish is not too long, nor very short, withous a surprise, but contrasting with the mouth, by its smoothness and its clear malty hints, and the fusty taste is nearly forgotten. This bottle deserves certainly a second chance.

Tobermory Golden Cask Cask 338
Age	10 years
Alcohol	60°
Bottler	John McDougall
Price/litre

A clear animal smell with hints of yeast. A kind of a mix of young leather and stable odours. Very light smoke hints.
The mouth is very pleasant and the high degree of alcohol does not hinder. Nice complexity allying leathery and meaty notes to other sea and peat ones.
The finish is pleasantly long and worm and the memory of this amazing whisky remains for minutes in the mouth.

Tobermory Whisky Doris 34 years
Age	34 years
Alcohol	49,5°
Bottler	Whisky Doris

Ledaig
Age	No age statement
Alcohol	42°
Bottler	Official

Comments by Johannes Sauer

Colour: Bright white wine, Riesling, beautiful
Nose: Strong peat with some strange stingy vinegar-acid added which you can also call grated lemon peel. A quite unbalanced unpleasant nose. Any softer malty notes are displaced by this first impression, which leaves no room for any complexity.
Palate: Leather appears, comfortable old armchairs. The vinegar steps back in favour of more maltiness. The whole whisky is gaining more complexity and more with water added, but even then the vinegar is detectable.
Finish: The armchair and the bit of complexity vanishes, the peat is leaving soft traces on the tongue. All this soon over....
Conclusion: A dram that leaves me helpless: If the ingredients were more balanced, it could be a good whisky comparable with Jura or Pulteney, perhaps some more year! s in the cask could do.

Ledaig 10 y.o. Cask Strength Chieftain'' Choice
Age	10 years
Alcohol	61,3°
Bottler	Ian McLeod

Comments by Thomas Widter

The Mull-based distillery Ledaig (Tobermory) might not be one of the most respected distilleries. Whether or not you appreciate dry malts tends to decide if you think differently or not (I do). This very smoky bottle might make indeed have an even more profound influence on your opinion. Admittedly, I am Swiss, which might contribute to my fondness of this malt: It smells and tates like really old rancid cheese. But in a good, if not to say truly great way. If Ardbeg has some kind of smoked-meat-taste to it, this is the cheese version. This malt makes the most out of the foundation any Tobermory contains, a mix of flowery dryness and... maybe roasted peanuts? All of that is still there, but amplied and added to in a beautiful way. You might enjoy Tobermory malts more, or in a different way, once you've had a dram of this terrific Ledaig.

My price was 49 Euros, Rating:
A full 19/20.