Scotch Whisky Review #132: Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch No. 003

Distillery: Tamdhu

Region: Speyside

Price: $15 for a dram

ABV: 58.3% Cask Strength

Cask Type: Sherry Cask

Age: NAS

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

This is the seventh in my Countdown to Christmas series where I’ll be posting a review a day until Christmas. You can find the entire series here.

Nose: (according to the wife) It’s a very sugary. It’s fully of caramel, black sugar candies, along with some candied peanuts.

Palate: Hot, hot, hot. This is a dram that is begging to be cut with water slightly as it is way too hot. There’s a lot of oak, almost like biting on a bit of wood, with a hint of sherry. Notes of candied peanuts and salty raisins join the oak notes. With a bit of water, you get some salted caramel, a hint of a something earthy along with those candied peanuts and salty raisins.

Finish: Surprisingly short. Sherry drenched oak with a hint of an orange peel.

Conclusion: I first heard of Tamdhu while at their sister distillery, Glengoyne, earlier this year so when I saw a bottle of this, I wanted to give it a crack. The nose is quite nice with several types of sweets in there along with a side of savory from the peanuts. The palate is far too oaked though until you add in a generous amount of water. I honestly felt like I was chewing on wood for a minute there in between the heat from the dram. With some water, it does turn into something a little nicer with the salted caramel, candied peanuts, and salty raisins. The finish was rather disappointing being so short. What as there was nice. Would I buy a bottle? Probably not.

Final Score: 75.

Scotch & Sheen is now on Instagram! Please take a look for quick summaries of my reviews!

Scotch Whisky review #132, Speyside Whiskey Review #51, Whisky Network Review #173

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.