Today we’re on something special, something I wasn’t part of here, but an experience I had the chance to have elsewhere. Several times. A community’s bottling. Back in May 2020 I think, I joined my first “close” whisky community. The Whisky Circus. I’ve already told you about this group founded by Sorren “ocdwhisky” Krebs. This is a group with a bit more than 30 members right now. Some joined later after its creation, some left, some took a pause. And with this group, we had several whiskies bottled for us for several distilleries. And having your own bottling, for your group, feels special. Way more recently, I was invited by a friend into another whisky group, a French one this time. Not a Twitter one, but one on Facebook one. It’s called “La Confrérie du Whisky”. We’re just (as far as I know) French (or French speaking) people, and as the Circus, it’s very dangerous for your credit card. And they did their own bottling too, with the help of the liquor shop and French indy bottler, Le Gus’t. So tonight, I try a Tomatin 2009 Le Gus’t bottled for La Confrérie du Whisky.
Tomatin 2009 Le Gus’t Review
Le Gus’t bottled an unpeated Tomatin filled into a bourbon barrel (#262) on the 30 October 2009. Eleven years later, it was disgorged on the 26th May 2021, with an outturn of 217 bottles, all bought by members of La Confrérie du Whisky. Of course, it was bottled at cask strength, at 54.7% ABV, without colouring nor chill filtration, and it was sold 72€ a bottle.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Very fruity at first, on yellow and orchard fruits (apricot, peach, apples, pear) with fresh menthol and eucalyptus notes. Very summery. Cereals, vanilla icing, white bread crumb. Orange peel and Amsterdamer pipe tobacco.
Water didn’t seem to do much, maybe slightly stronger pipe tobacco and some white fruits.
Palate:
Cereals again, softly woody but very well integrated, as well as the alcohol which gives out a warmth but no burn. Nectarine, vanilla, some spices too with pepper, ginger and a pinch of chilli. A bit mineral (flint) and floral (white ones), milk chocolate.
Reduction makes the palate a bit more woody and brings out more ginger, while hiding the fruits. Better neat I’d say.
Finish:
Flaked almonds, white fruits and flint, medium length, slightly drying.
Comments:
Lovely summery dram. The nose is fruity and fresh, not woody, you can see you drinking that as the sun and some warmth arrive, from spring to an Indian summer. The palate is wee step down. It’s good, but it is slightly rough and you feel it’s may have benefited from a couple more years in the cask. I couldn’t find a benefit to reduction, I enjoyed this more while neat, and that’s how I’ll finish what’s left in my sample. But in the end, while I didn’t overly enjoy my first Tomatin (and appreciated quite more the peated Tomatin, Cu Bocan, I tried), I must say this Tomatin brought back interest for the distillery. I think I’ll seek out some more to continue to explore what they offer.
