Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 002

Returning to my favorite distillery, Tamdhu. Ever since my initial taste of the 10 year old, I was captivated and have acquired as many bottles as my finances allowed. Here we have the second release in their Batch Strength line, Batch 002. This review has been anticipated for a long time as I’ve been holding onto this sample provided by a friend for over a year. This Speyside single malt was bottled at 58.5% ABV, non chill filtered, and like all Tamdhu, it has natural color, a pleasing dark copper hue. The nose is dominated by sherry and mulling spices, particularly cinnamon, with a hint of mint as well. Intense sherried oak, anise, licorice root. Spiced fruitcake, dense with dried fruits like dates, cherries, and faint apricots. Cocoa powder, orange zest/oil. Somewhat nutty – Brazil nuts and walnuts, honey, malty, tobacco, and hay, ginger, and leather. Toffee, caramel, and a quick hit of sweet vermouth. Remarkable. The palate is intensely sweet and spicy. The first sip was heavenly. Dark cherries, sherry, and oak. The cherry flavor is so potent and I absolutely adore it. Fudge, cocoa, hazelnut. Cinnamon, clove, anise, and cola. I didn’t discern much more than that because I was absorbed in the experience. A full-bodied mouthfeel that is oily with heat, stimulating salivation, and coats the mouth. The finish is long, the kind of long where if you drink it before bed and don’t brush your teeth, you will still taste it in the morning, perhaps even if you do brush, haha. Sherry, cherries, oak, cinnamon, and cocoa. Even though drinking this without water was incredibly satisfying, I decided to add water to see what would happen. HUGE ERROR! It enhances the fruit in the nose slightly, but completely ruins the palate by dulling the intensity that made it so enjoyable. This is an outstanding whisky, the finest I’ve had in quite some time. Full, intense flavors with a wealth of cherries. The nose was good, but the palate was exceptional. The finish was the least impressive aspect, if it could even be called that. Best enjoyed 1oz at a time, as any more would overwhelm your palate with flavor overload. At around $80, it's a great value. Good luck finding any, though, as they are now on Batch 004. 4.5 stars and eagerly anticipating opening my bottle of Batch 003. Cheers

I had the opportunity to really explore this bottle over the past month. This review is for Batch Strength 002. The second batch has been receiving slightly better feedback than the initial batch, which is why I bought it. I'm not sure how many bottles of Batch 001 are still available anyway. This one is 58.5% ABV, with no added color and unfiltered. It's a deep mahogany in the glass and leaves some seriously slick, oily legs when swirled. I found this bottle online for just under $80, and I have to say- that's a fantastic price if you liked the standard 10 year old. The aroma is strongly influenced by sherry, with chocolate and almonds leading. There's some red berry sweetness if you let it sit for a bit before proceeding. It smells wonderful. The taste again highlights a well-crafted, sherry cask whisky that delivers more impact than the standard 10yo. It has added depth with butterscotch candies, dark chocolate, and honey sweetness rounding it out. The texture is a bit thick but also somewhat refined- especially for a cask strength. The finish is long and quite warm, with sherry and chocolate notes fading into hints of wood. It finishes a little harsh, but that's expected when the ABV is approaching 60%. Overall, I wasn't a big fan when I first opened the bottle. It definitely needed some air to mellow out so its connection to Tamdhu could be recognized. I felt the same way about the 10 year as I drank it. Patience will be well rewarded here. It's an excellent dram and also quite affordable. 4.25 stars. Cheers.

Bottle open several months, about 75% full. Served in a Glencairn glass, 1.5 oz pour, neat. I've been on an Islay kick the last month or two, and it felt good to come back to Speyside. A Sherry bomb, to boot! It does, however, continue the trend of my apparent affinity for barrel proof drams. The nose is ALL Sherry. Pure dessert. There is an oak hint, so there is some old-ish whisky here, but the core is probably 10-12 years old. Entry is sweet and smooth, especially for the ABV. Mouth feel is thick, full, and lush The profile starts with Sherry, then dried fruits lead way to walnuts, then a milk chocolate that morphs into dark chocolate. The chocolate profile is reminiscent of dried tobacco that is kindling. Finish warms up, with a lot of spice, and even some burn on the finish, although the burn didn't appear until near the end of the glass. It would be prudent to add a few drops of water to bring the ABV down to ~50%, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. TLDR: Complex, very approachable, and addictive. I am heartbroken I cannot get may more of this, and it's unknown when or if Batch Strength #4 will be available in my area. Pity, this is one of my favorites, and possibly the best bang-for-the-buck cask proof Sherry bombs on the market.

This was the last drink during our "Glad the work week is over" tasting last night. While there's much to appreciate here, it felt a bit underwhelming following the Talisker 18. But, I'm getting sidetracked. Fans of sherry will be thrilled! This is an assertive sherry bomb, fully matured in excellent sherry barrels, with all the typical characteristics vying for attention. You're likely to detect dates, waxy nuts (get it?), raisins, alongside hints of smoky leather and parchment. It doesn't drink like a cask strength spirit, which can be dangerous if you're not careful. I added 3-4 drops of water to find my ideal flavor profile. I had a similar experience with batch 003, which I believe I slightly favor over this one. Batch 002 was a bit more intense with the sherry and alcohol, whereas I found batch 003 to have more fruit and custard elements. Batch 004 is now available locally, and I'm contemplating purchasing a bottle. The price is rather high and will likely increase further with new tariffs... stay tuned. Enjoy!

batch 3 Nose: Sweet, sherry-forward. It's cask strength, and it shows! Palate: Unexpected... a sweetness despite the high alcohol content!!! Candied strawberries, fresh oranges, a hint of cinnamon and ginger. Fresh and creamy. I suspect some kind of filtration given the near absence of oiliness, especially since it's cask strength! Finish: Quite long with spices. Overall: Very aromatically similar to Macallan No. 2 but a cask strength (and filtered?) version. Very, very good and intense. A pure sherry bomb! It's smoother than Abunadh and Classic Cut, but in terms of aromatic intensity, it's more sherry-forward than Classic Cut but less so than Abunadh. In short, it's either for you or it isn't. If you don't like Macallan or Abunadh, this isn't for you! If, on the other hand, you're a fan of sherry bombs, this is definitely for you! (and for me!) 95%

Hmm, this is an interesting dram. I anticipated an extraordinary experience given all the reviews I've encountered, but neither occurred. To be fair, I had the '77 Benriach Portwood, Aberlour, and Talisker 18, then Martell XO before this, so perhaps the high benchmark didn't help. I found it difficult to be impressed. Adding water definitely improved it somewhat, revealing biscuit-like, velvety honey, but it wasn't more remarkable than the 16-year Glen Moray I tasted earlier in the week. The reviews all describe it as a sherry powerhouse, but I detect none of that... perhaps the samples were mixed up? I'm giving it 3.5 for now.