Colour: Golden.

Smell: An uncomplicated, young and sweet whisky with aromas of soft creamy smoke, slight maritime tones, subtle berries, licorice root, ginger, hazelnuts, hints of fruit, apples, plums, caramel, hint of cinnamon, toffee, cereals, barley sugars, vanilla, a hint of sherry (very faint) and subtle oak.

Taste: A soft, sweet, spirity and dry whisky with aromas of sweet honey, pepper, chili-pepper, subtle oak, licorice root, fennel seeds, subtle tannins, soft creamy smoke, a little brine, a hint of fruits (some pineapple, apple and a hint off pear), brown sugar, caramel, a hint of coffee and where is the sherry?

Finish: A medium short and slightly drying finish with aromas of smoke, honey, pepper, ginger, hint of dried fruits, bitter tannins and soft oak.

Conclusion: This has remarkably little sherry flavours for a sherry cask marketed whisky. It feels like they used 1 sherry cask in a batch of 100 bourbon casks. On the nose it’s all a bit too shy and unbalanced for my taste. On the palate it’s slightly better but that has probably to do with the sugary sweetness of this dram (I have a sweet tooth).

All in all not an offending dram but nothing worth looking for either.

Marks: 7.8/10

http://www.worldwhisky.nl/review-389-tomatin-cu-bocan-sherry-cask/

The whisky really needs to be open first. Then the taste only comes to the fore a little. Less sherry bomb than expected / hoped for.