Tormore

   

Tormore distillery was founded in 1960, yes as recently as that, when Long John Int'l  commissioned SIr Albert Richardson to build them a new distillery.

In 1972 the number of stills was doubled from four to eight and at the same time the heating method was changed from coal to steam.

In 1984 the heating system was changed once more to allow the burning of wood chips which are created by the lumber industry in the local forests.

 
 

1975 saw Long John Int'l taken over by Whitbread & Co. and in the same year Tormore was transferred to Allied Distillers, then in 2005 Pernod Ricard bought Allied Domecq (formerly Allied Distillers)  and transferred the running of Tormore to Chivas Brothers who remain the owners today.

 

 

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

My thanks to Teun van Wel for permission to copy & use the distillery photos

 

 

 

 

Original Distillery Bottlings (OB)

General whisky characteristics: Smooth, warm and gentle

 
   

Tormore, OB, 12y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich oak, almost amber

Nose: Straw, barn, farmyard, even down to the wellies in a corner of the barn. After a few minutes a faint suggestion of raspberry appears.

Palate: Creamy, leafy farmyard and barn.

Finish: Medium

Overall Impression: A real outdoor dram. Perhaps one for the hip flask on a Spring-time walk through the Yorkshire Dales.

 

   
   

The Tormore-Glenlivet, OB, 10y, 40% ABV

Pure Highland Malt, Long John Distillers Ltd

Typical cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Oak

Nose: Musty but yet very aromatic with a lightly perfumed grassiness. Perhaps fragrant hay? Also a faint suggestion of furniture polish.

Palate: Nutty, almond, mild marzipan and all over a background of mildly perfumed grassiness.

Finish: Long and gentle (mild).

Overall Impression: All very aromatic and perfumed whilst being mild.

 

   

 

 

Independent Bottlings (IB)

   
     

McKillop's Choice, Tormore, 1992, 43% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

 
 

Nose: A floral, slightly salty beach

Palate: Not at all salty on the palate, just gentle fruit cake edging towards German Christmas Stollen with marzipan.

Finish: The finish is quite long, but even longer with a few drops of water added.

Overall Impression: I was hoping for a lot from this as I have enjoyed a couple of marvellous Tormores, but this was a more ordinary dram, not a great, but good.

 

   
     

Wemyss, Tormore Fresh Bourbon, 1988, 46%

Labelled as 'Lemon Butter Pastry'

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€

 
 

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Pale yellow

Nose: My initial thought was that lemon butter pastry was not far away. There are hints of lemon and something akin to pastry or bread dough. I would describe the nose as light, not overpowering, but promising quite a lot.

Palate: Fresh creamy (or buttery) lemon with the pastry or bread dough only appearing slightly on the aftertaste.

With 2 drops of water: The nose becomes slightly fresher, as does the palate. More or less gone is the pastry (bread dough) and an almost minty lemon freshness is much in evidence.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed this dram. It doesn't fit the taste profile which I would normally choose, but I have to say that this is a good Summer's evening or aperitif dram. I would also be interested to pair this with something interesting in one of my Gourmet evenings, but with what? With the presence of lemon, maybe a light (unsmoked) fish dish, or maybe an equally fresh dessert.
Anyway, Susan of Wemyss has stated above that these were all bottled in April 2009, so this one is 20/21 years old and at an RRP of €67, I don't think that's too bad as it does have character and is enjoyable.

 

   
   

G&M, Tormore, 1982-2011, 55.1%

Bottled for LMdW, Cask No.13316, bottle No.454 of 463

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2011

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light amber

Nose: This is slow to develop but when it does after 2-3 minutes it offers hints of slightly smoky wood and vanilla, followed by a rather unusual suggestion of workshop or even steelworks, maybe even a smelting process, but no, not at all in a bad way.

Palate: Totally in contrast to the nose this suggests a creamy pepperiness, a rich maltiness and a deep almost sherried character.

Finish: Long and creamy with hints of toffee and butterscotch

Overall Impression: Most enjoyable, I real
ly liked this.

 

   
 

 

SMWS, Tormore,  distilled Sept.1983 - 28y, 55.1% ABV

Cask No.105.19

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics live review at SMWS Vaults

 
 

Glass: SMWS

Colour: Rich amber

Nose: Rich and nicely sherried, but with some quite amazing floral notes and red grapes too. After some minutes in the glass a light vanilla woodiness begins to develop, but never dominates.

Palate: More floral complexity with an excellent depth of sherry and a light pepperiness.

Finish: Long and lightly foral.

Overall Impression: Aromatic, fruity and complex sherry. I love it.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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