Tormore rarely steals the spotlight, yet these two 20-something Tormore from That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Elixir Distillers make a strong case for paying much closer attention. Together, they sketch a compelling portrait of modern indie Tormore: bright, characterful Speyside spirit, handled with a light enough touch to let the orchard and exotic fruits do the talking. So without further ado, let’s get to our tasting glasses.
Tormore 22-year-old Batch 4 & 5 That Boutique-y Whisky Company (2019) Review
We start with a bottling from Boutique-y from a few years ago: a Tormore 22-year-old Batch 4 & 5, bottled in 2019. Batch 4 was for Europe, and Batch 5 for the USA, but they’re the same whisky, bottled at 47.1% ABV, without added colour nor chill filtration. I’m not sure how many bottles were in batch 5, but they were only 58 bottles in batch 4, and both seem sold out.
Colour:
Yellow gold with a slightly green hue.
Nose:
Neat: Tropical and zesty notes dominate, blending unripe mango, pink grapefruit, green apple, lemon zest and Sauvignon Blanc-like freshness. Sunflower oil, mild chalk, dried herbs, salt and a little oak add elegance and a subtle salinity.
Palate:
Neat: The palate starts with aruity zing with mango, green apple, lemon pith, and citrus zest, alongside creamy sweetness and mineral oils. Grassy flintiness, mint, varnish, herbaceous coriander, walnuts and fragrant spices, over a nice syrupy texture. Then, some oak, hints of smoke, and a touch of aniseed.
Finish:
Medium-long and zingy, fruity and spicy, featuring lingering citrus, clay, grass, salt again, pepper, and tart grapefruit zest.
Comments:
A lovely Tormore, with a nice age statement, an easy sipping ABV and enough complexity to keep you busy sniffing and tasting for a good moment if you have an analytic mood.
Rating: 7/10
Tormore 1999 Elixir Distillers (2023) Review
Next, we have a 1999 Tormore bottled in 2023 by Elixir Distillers (the new owners of Tormore distillery). Distilled on the 9th of September 1999 , it aged for 23 years in a First-Fill Bourbon Barrel (Cask number#5174). The barrel yielded 189 bottles at 54.5% ABV, and the whisky was bottled for La Maison Du Whisky for their 2023 Itinéraires collection, without chill filtration nor added colour. It is still available at La Maison Du Whisky, for a hefty 379€ a bottle.
Colour:
Pale gold.
Nose:
Neat: Rich, invigorating aromas greet first, blending aniseed, herbaceous notes, zesty lemon, and vanilla with exceptional freshness. Aeration unleashes pineapple, peppery spice, and precise elegance. Then, after some more time, papaya, honey, wax, quince, and mango in a fruit explosion.
With water: Not much change, maybe a little more definition of the tropical fruits, appearing more clearly between each other.
Palate:
Neat: Exotic fruits explode more vibrantly than the nose. The oily texture carrying kiwi, lychee, papaya, mango, and quince alongside honeyed wax. Balanced freshness persists through lemony herbs, vanilla, pepper, and subtle oak influence from long bourbon maturation.
With water: The palate becomes waxier, with peach flavoured yogurt, more papaya and mango, lemongrass and orange blossom, and that quince again.
Finish:
Long and creamy, it evokes liquorice sticks at first, then juicy pears, apples, saffron spice and malt, with a peppery ting for a long, long moment after the other flavours have disappeared.
Comments:
The Boutique-y Tormore was very good, but the Elixir one is properly excellent. It’s an explosion of tropical fruits with a lovely but light herbaceousness and wax everywhere. You’ll have to make sure to give it time and aeration, as patience rewards you with more and more tropical fruits. Superb Tormore.
Rating: 8/10
Thanks Benoît!