Tomatin enters travel retail with age statements

Highland Scotch whisky distillery Tomatin is voyaging into the world of duty free with the launch of an age statement collection comprising its core 12-year-old expression and three travel retail exclusive editions.

Tomatin has launched an age statement collection in travel retail

The age statement collection sees the distillery’s flagship 12-year-old whisky accompanied by an 8-year-old, a 15-year-old and a “rare” 40-year-old vintage.

Tomatin 8 Year Old has been matured in Bourbon and Sherry casks, offering aromas of “vanilla-sweetened baked apples and pears developing into deeper dark fruit flavours”, balanced with ginger and cinnamon “for a sweet and spicy finish”. It has an abv of 40%.

Bottled at a strength of 46% abv, the 15-year-old, matured in North American Oak, is “light and fresh” on the nose, with citrus fruit flavours “well balanced with emerging honey and toffee”.

The final expression is a 40-year-old malt matured in Oloroso Sherry casks, described as a “smooth and rounded triumph of dark and tropical fruits” with “a big and fruity finish” and “a touch of oak”.

Stephen Bremner, sales director, said: “We have been working on a strategy to establish our presence in the travel retail market for some time now in response to growing demand for Tomatin single malt on a global level.

“While the majority of Scotch brands have elected to present no-age statement duty free ranges, our collection of age statement whiskies provides a point of difference.

“This is a priority market for us as it provides an introduction to Tomatin for thousands of globe-trotters so we wanted to create a range that caters for all tastes and budgets, whether you’re a whisky novice or a high-end collector.”

The range is now available in airports across Europe, with plans for the US and Asia to follow in the coming years.

Bremner added: “There’s great potential in each of these markets and we hope that the success we have seen recently with our core range will be mirrored within travel retail, with sales of the core Tomatin range increasing dramatically over the past few years.

“We have seen sales growth of 60% in our branded goods over the last 4 years and currently exports make up 92% of our business.

“It’s an encouraging sign for the future.”

Tomatin 8 Year Old retails at €35, Tomatin 12 Year Old at €41.50, Tomatin 15 Year Old €55 and Tomatin 40 Year Old at €1,250.

In addition to Tomatin single malt, the range will also include a bottle of Standard Edition Cù Bòcan –  the distillery’s only peated expression, launched in 2013.