Tobermory 25yo
Tobermory Distillery, the only whisky maker operating on the Isle of Mull, has just announced the release of a new limited edition of its whisky.
Tobermory 25yo Expression 3 this is the third whisky edition of The Hebridean Series collection launched two years ago. The whisky, additionally matured in Gonzales Byass Oloroso sherry casks, is bottled for the third consecutive year as the next installment in the series. Tobermory 23yo and Tobermory 24yo available so far.
Tobermory 25yo Expression 3 is a beverage with a strength of 48.1% vol., according to the producer, it offers notes of freshly baked bread, candied orange peel, fudge, cinnamon and a touch of cocoa in the aroma. On the taste we can expect notes of blackcurrant jam, peach, lemon zest, almonds in honey, coconut and a hint of mint.
The edition is limited to 5,298 bottles, each of which costs £345 at retail.
Tobermory is one of the oldest whisky distilleries in Scotland, having been founded in 1798. It is currently the only malt whisky maker on Mull, the second largest island in the Inner Hebrides archipelago (Skye is the largest). From its founding through its long history, the distillery was called Ledaig. As Ledaig just became part of Distillers Company Limited (DCL, the protagonist of modern Diageo). Unfortunately, due to the collapse of the whisky market (world crisis, World War I, Prohibition in the US), the owner of the distillery was forced to close it in 1930. The distillery's remote location and the significant costs associated with transporting raw materials and the finished product were not insignificant to such a decision. We had to wait more than four decades for the economic turnaround and the emergence of a consortium of shareholders who decided to reactivate the distillery in 1972. Its new incarnation was named Tobermory, after the village in which it is located, the largest human settlement on the island of Mull. In 1982, the distillery shared the fate of many others that closed due to a massive overproduction crisis in the whiskey industry. A period of prosperity did not return to Tobermory until 1993, with the acquisition of the plant by Burn Stewart Distillers. The first decades of the 21st century saw the establishment of Tobermory as one of the higher-rated producers of Scotch malt whisky.
Today, this relatively small distillery (max. capacity of 1 million liters) produces two types of whisky. The first, Tobermory, is a fine beverage based on unfortified malt (max. 2 ppm). The second, bearing the original name of the Ledaig distillery, is an expressive, smoky whisky that is demanding on the palate, produced using malt smoked to at least the 35 ppm level. And both varieties of whisky produced here are enduringly popular among lovers of Scotch malt whisky. In recent years, the distillery's offerings have expanded to include the original Hebridean gin produced on the Isle of Mull.
The current offering from the House of Whisky Online includes a selection of whiskies from the Tobermory distillery - both peat-free Tobermory, as well as smoky Ledaig. At the time of preparing this material, both previous editions of the Hebridean Series collection were available, among others. Due to the strictly limited number of bottles prepared by the manufacturer, this condition will not last forever, and therefore those interested should make radical moves if they want to ensure that they can get and taste them. You are cordially invited.
[01.03.2023 / Photo: Tobermory]