Tobermory 24 Year Old Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish

Tobermory sits on the harbour front at the top of Mull, painted the same colours as the houses around it, and it has always made two whiskies: peated Ledaig, and this, the unpeated one. This is the second release in the distillery’s Hebridean Series. It began life as a Tobermory 15 Year Old in American oak ex-bourbon casks — perfectly good on its own terms — and then somebody moved it into González Byass oloroso butts and left it there for another nine years.

Nine years is not a finish. It is a second maturation, and what comes out the far end is a different animal altogether. Bottled at 52.5%.

The nose opens brighter than the colour prepares you for: lemon first, then caramelised dates and roasted walnut, then dark berries rising underneath — blackcurrant, plum. The palate is where the strength earns its keep. Nutmeg and cinnamon lead, a salty coastal tang runs through the middle the way Mull always seems to leave behind, and then blackcurrant jam and thick vanilla arrive together. It finishes on salted caramel and hazelnut, slowly.

Twenty-four year old sherried single malt from a distillery that fills only a few thousand casks a year, and one that far fewer people collect than probably should. At this price that is a fair exchange.

How to Serve

Neat in a Glencairn to begin with. At 52.5% a few drops of water are worth trying — they push the fruit forward and take the edge off the spice. No ice.

Where to Drink It

Soho Whisky Club, which will have the context to hand. Black Rock in Shoreditch. Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood for something quieter.

Food Pairings

Smoked venison, or a plate of good bresaola — the salt in the cured meat meets that coastal note head on. Aged Comté does the job too.