At the banks of the River Livet, by the Tamnavulin whisky distillery, there sits an ancient three storey wool carding mill. Built of rubble, the mill dates back to 1560 and accordingly the village Tomnavoulin – note the differing spelling – takes its name from the Gaelic for ‘Mill on the hill’. The Tamnavulin whisky distillery draws its water from underground springs in the surrounding hillside and takes its cooling waters from the River Livet, whose headwaters rise in the Grampians in Moray before flowing eleven miles until their confluence with the River Avon.
Founded in 1966 by a subsidiary of Invergordon Distillers Ltd, the whisky distillery has changed little during its relatively short life. Woefully, the Tamnavulin is rather typical of 1960s-constructed distilleries and the exterior is decidedly industrial, in stark contrast to its markedly stunning locality. The three pairs of stills have a total capacity of four million litres annually, though this has yet to be reached.
The Tamnavulin distillery has been under the ownership of United Spirits since their acquisition of Whyte and Mackay in 2007. The whisky distillery had previously been silent for over a decade, having been mothballed in May of 1995. Under the new ownership, there has been the addition of new staff as well as increased working hours; Tamnavulin now operates seven days a week, which should bring production to near full capacity.
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Tasting Notes
Colour: Pale gold.
Nose: Fresh apple, pear, vanilla, soft honey and light malt sweetness.
Palate: Smooth and rounded with orchard fruit, toffee, sweet cereal and gentle oak spice.
Finish: Clean and medium in length with lingering vanilla, soft pepper and polished oak.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep gold. This is an inference based on the whisky’s age and cask-strength presentation.
Nose: Rich orchard fruit, soft vanilla, honeyed malt, and warming oak spice. This is an inference based on the expected profile of a mature Speyside single malt bottled at natural strength.
Palate: Full and concentrated, with fruit sweetness, malty depth, gentle spice, and a firm cask-strength structure. This is an inference based on the age statement and 56.8% ABV.
Finish: Long, warming, and slightly drying, with lingering fruit, spice, and oak. This is an inference based on the whisky’s likely mature Speyside style and bottling strength.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Bright gold. This is an inference based on the refill bourbon barrel maturation and overall presentation.
Nose: Fresh orchard fruit, vanilla sweetness, soft malt, and light oak spice. This is an inference based on the refill bourbon barrel cask type and the whisky’s mature Speyside style.
Palate: Clean and lively, with apple and pear notes, gentle honeyed sweetness, and a firm cask-strength structure. This is an inference based on the cask type, age, and 59.4% ABV.
Finish: Medium to long, warming, and slightly drying, with lingering fruit, soft spice, and oak. This is an inference based on the whisky’s maturation and natural strength.
Behold, a 39 year old single malt from Tamnavulin, a distillery that we really don’t hear enough from, we reckon. This one was distilled all the way back in 1979 and matured in a combination of bourbon and matusalem oloroso sherry casks before being bottled in 2019. A stunning release from the Vintages Collection series.
Distillery Tamnavulin
Bottler Distillery Bottling
Bottling serie Vintages Collection
Vintage 1979
Bottled 2019
Stated Age 39 years old
Cask Type Ex-bourbon & Matusalem Oloroso Sherry
Strength 46.5 % Vol.
Tamnavulin Double Cask was the first release from the distillery since the 1990s! Over the past 20 or so years, the distillery changed hands from Invergordon Distillers to Whyte & MacKay, closed a few years later and reopened in 2007. Much of its single malt output is used in blends, but a few casks of single malt would sneak out as indie bottlings to allow us a rare taste of Tamnavulin – but now they’ve got their very own expression! They initially mature it in American oak barrels before treating them to a finishing period in Sherry casks.
Tamnavulin, showing off the distillery’s skills at using interesting cask finishes for its fab single malt Scotch whisky. This time, it’s red wine! The whisky is initially aged in American oak barrels, but before it gets bottled, it enjoys a stay in French Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks, imparting a whole heap of warming dark fruit and sweet spice notes. We reckon this will make for an ace autumnal dram.
Single malt Scotch from the Tamnavulin Red Wine Cask Edition range. Matured in American oak, Edition No.2 has then been finished in casks that previously held Spanish grenache, for some juicy red berry and mellow spice notes.
This Speyside single malt has been matured in a combination of American oak casks and a variety of sherry casks. This is a fruity, rich whisky with aromas of raisins, orange and vanilla. The palate offers notes of dried fruits, warm spices and rich caramel.
A lovely sherried Tamnavulin originally released for the Travel Retail market, the Speysider was initially matured in American oak barrels. Before it was bottled, the single malt was treated to a finish in casks which previously held Tempranillo red wine, imparting a brilliant colour as well as berry-forward flavour profile.
This collection includes 3 Malt bottles of 33,33 CL:
Highland – The Dalmore 12 Year Reserve 33.33cl 40%
Islay – Isle of Jura 10 Year Reserve 33.33cl 40%
Speyside – Tamnavulin 10 Year Reserve 33.33cl 40%
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