Best in Blog #48: Edrington Group is Closing Tamdhu
Tasting Notes From Bloggers We Trust:
- Whisky Notes gives the Tobermory 1994 one of the worst grades I’ve ever seen: 45/100. You’ve heard of sherry bombs? Well this is a sulpher bomb.
- Whisky Intelligence, however, is liking this Bowmore 10 year old (Tempest Batch No. 1).
- Whisky Fun tastes two Macallans from Gordon & MacPhail (Speymalt).
- Whisky For Everyone tries Glenlivet 12 and an Ardmore 1990 from Gordon & MacPhail.
- Malt Advocate has high marks for this Evan Williams single barrel.
- Scotch Hobbyist got his hands on a sample of the Mannochmore 18 (Diageo 2009 Special Release), and calls it a “Speyside bourbon.”
- Drink Hacker reviews Lagavulin 1993 Distiller’s Edition, double matured in Pedro Ximinez sherry casks.
Whisk(e)y News on the Web:
- Another one bites the dust. The Edrington Group is closing their Tamdhu distillery – a casualty of the economy – and focusing their resources on the Macallan, the Glenrothes, and Highland Park.
- Dalmore Oculus sold at Bonham’s for ₤23,000.
- Apparently Shackleton’s Whisky (found in Antarctica) will taste much like it did 100 years ago, which is to say, peaty.
- The Washington Post has some interesting coverage of Whisky Fest NYC.
Related posts:
A shame for sure, although it sounded more like a mothballing than a complete levelling.
Some of the responses to the news are classic:
“I do hope the top shelf is not set to shrink still further. Then again the empty spaces can be taken up by more gimcrack bottlings from the two glens fiddich and morangie, ’15.7 yr old orange crate finish’ anyone? ‘Turks jockstrap and balsa wood aged reserve’ maybe.”
Yes, it is in fact a mothballing, not a complete abandonment. They’re cutting a lot of jobs and just doing upkeep and maintenance. My outstanding question on this is that Tamdhu is a part of the Famous Grouse Blend, more than a Single Malt. So do they just have loads of stock to draw on, or do they have a replacement whisky for this element of The Grouse. It’s the best selling blend in Scotland, so I imagine the volume of sales is quite high, necessitating a lot of stock.