Tomintoul Peaty Tang

Speyside Scotch that gives best tang for your buck

The village of Tomintoul lives and breathes Whisky. A local minister in 1797 wrote that there were 37 families and no industry - all of them sold and drank Whisky. The Tomintoul Distillery was built in 1964 and they use old-school iron-clad techniques to create their "gentle dram". Robert Fleming, Tomintoul's Master Distiller is the fourth generation in his Whisky-making family. His secret is a combo of pure spring water from the Ballantruan Spring, the barley that's usually not peated - except for this very expression, the fresh air, and oak wood casks.

The annual release of a deeply smoky Peaty Tang is a lower proof replacement for Tomintoul's Old Ballantruan. For two weeks out of the year, Tomintoul Distillery makes a heavily peated Whisky and this particular bottle is a Single Malt from a blend of their 5-year-old peated Whisky and their 8-year-old unpeated one. It's a balanced and complex Spirit that enjoys all the benefits of its peaty soul: it may be a young'un, but it's more intriguing than some of the older Whiskies. Its sweetness and smokiness impressed Jim Murray as well: he gave it 94 points in 2012.