Aged on the Scottish mainland for 14 years and then finished off in sherry casks on the Island of Mull. A fresh whisky with a hint of brine, along with richer nutty toffee and chocolate fudge, embedded with dried fruit. Delicate oak resin peppers the finish, balancing the whisky’s sweetness. One of the best unpeated Tobermory whiskies (i.e. non-Ledaig) whiskies I’ve tasted. The sherry enhances the whiskey without dominating.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

The 8^th in a series of “Links” releases. This one’s further enhanced in Chateau Latour Bordeaux casks. Bright, fruity notes of red raspberry, rhubarb, and candy apple. Teasing fresh brine emerges occasionally, along with citrus, mango, and vanilla. A very perky whisky.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

A marriage of Ben Nevis (85%) and Clynelish (15%). A weighty whisky. Not as nimble as the Speyside expression below, but with flavors that linger. Rummy toffee notes, roasted nuts, earthy moss, jammy fruit, teasingly subtle black strap molasses, and clove.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Floral aroma with a lively array of orchard fruit and citrus.  Underlying notes of soft honey and vanilla.  Good malt foundation for a blend.  An elegant and breezy "anytime" dram.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Aged for six years in bourbon casks, then aged an additional ten years in Bordeaux wine casks. Classic Bowmore peat smoke and red berried fruit (raspberry, strawberry) are the main components of this whisky, with additional notes of plum, grape skin tannins, currant, caramel, and marzipan. Good grip from the Limousin oak (wine casks). Some brine and damp cellar notes emerged occasionally, with the smoke lingering long on the finish.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Consists of 60% Bowmore and 40% Caol Ila. Bold, youthful, and somewhat medicinal (as would be expected), with peat smoke, tar, pebbles on a beach, and boat docks. Additional flavors of smoked olives and exotic pepper add intrigue, while honeyed malt notes soothe the palate and provide balance.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

An equal marriage of Longmorn and Glen Moray whiskies. Quite a fruity adventure, with zingy notes of bramble, strawberry, rhubarb, sultana, nectarine, and plum. All this fruit sits on a bed of creamy vanilla malt (the Longmorn influence is quite evident) that coats the palate long after the finish.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

The most heavily peated of the three (35ppm phenol), but rather gentle for such smoke intensity. No doubt this is partly due to its sweet underbelly of vanilla cream puff, honeyed barley, and melon fruit. The other factor is that the smoke influence is not medicinal like some other Islay whiskies, but rather more of a leafy bonfire smoke, with burning embers and teasing brine on the finish. Like Waves, Peat comes across as a bit youthful.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

This whisky is in between the "Original" Tullamore and Tullamore Dew 12 year old in age and price range, and it also fits between the two in flavor and quality.  I thought that maybe this whiskey would have a more distinctive character to it (sherry cask aging, different proof, etc.) compared to the other two, given that it is a limited edition of only 900 cases and so close in age to the others, but it doesn't.  It's not that this is a bad thing, but rather just 'more of the same.' It certainly is a pleasant enough whiskey - well balanced, not aggressive, yet with enough maturity and pot still content to make it "sip worthy" if one chooses to do so.  Rather than buy the standard Tullamore Dew for mixing (or drinking on the rocks) and the 12 year old for sipping, you can reasonably cover your bases with just this one bottle of 10 year old. Rating for Original Tullamore Dew: 80 (it has gotten better over the years); rating for Tullamore Dew 12 year old: 84.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Pleasantly sweet. Good malt foundation with an abundance of bright summer fruit. Clean, straight-forward and uncomplicated.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Plenty of citrus zest, along with subtle pineapple and coconut on the nose. The palate begins with honeyed-malt sweetness, followed by the citrus fruit, but then quickly turns dry and resinous, with dried nuts and spicy oak on the finish. The intensity of the dryness on the finish surprised me and detracted from an otherwise well-rounded dram.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Only moderately peated (15ppm phenol), but a consistent influence. Quite fresh: reminds me of a walk around a traditional distillery, with notes of steeping barley, kiln smoke, and youthful spirit. A subtle, intriguing thread of gin botanicals (especially citrus peel) weaves its way through the palate. Otherwise, the smoke and fruit keep your attention.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)

Origins is Benromach’s new program to highlight different aspects of whisky-making, which I think is a great idea. This expression focuses on the use of Golden Promise barley to make the malt, which is then aged in a sherry cask. Unfortunately, there’s so much sherry here that I struggle to appreciate the impact or distinction from the Golden Promise barley. Notes of ripe orchard fruit, tangerine, beeswax, sticky toffee pudding, and toasted almond. Lingering smoke and waxed fruit stays through to the finish. A weighty Benromach (from the Golden Promise and/or the sherry). I find the nose pleasant enough, but the sherry-induced waxed fruit component that emerges mid-palate is just too dominant.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2008)