Coming in 2014

In 2009, my first year as spirits buyer here at K&L, the Edrington Group (owners of Macallan and Highland Park) decided they were going to shutdown their Tamdhu distillery, which caught many people off guard considering at that time we were at the beginning of the whole shortage paranoia. Then the property went up for sale and our friends at Ian Macleod ended up purchasing the site in 2011. Seeing that Chieftain's and Isle of Skye wouldn't be enough to sustain the company much longer, they added Glengoyne to their portfolio as well (actually before they purchased Tamdhu). Production began again at Tamdhu in 2012 and now, on January 1st 2014, we can begin selling the new, repackaged Tamdhu 10 year old single at K&L from its new owners.

I got a chance to taste the whisky today and I was thoroughly impressed. There's more sherry than I remember from previous editions and the oiliness of the whisky is on full display. Think of it as a cross between Glenrothes and Glenfiddich, but with more texture and nuance. The price will be somewhere in the mid-$50s, which won't please fans of affordable 10 year old whiskies, but isn't outlandish for the quality of the juice.

I'm looking forward to adding it to our shelf.

-David Driscoll