Tomatin bottles ex-Sauternes cask-aged Scotch

Highland distiller Tomatin has unveiled the latest bottling in its Warehouse Six Collection, which is the distillery’s first Scotch whisky aged in ex-Sauternes casks.

Tomatin Warehouse Six Collection: The 1977 is the distillery’s first whisky aged in ex-Sauternes barrels

Tomatin Warehouse Six Collection: The 1977 is the distillery’s first release to be matured in the French wine barrels. The cask is said to have imparted flavours of coconut, mango and ginger on the whisky, which is priced at £3,000 (US$3,900).

Graham Eunson, distillery operations director at Tomatin, said: “Of the thousands of casks held at Tomatin, we’ve only ever acquired a handful of Sauternes wine casks. Using any one of them, even for one of our oldest and most valuable whiskies wasn’t a decision we made lightly; we knew from the start that it could be difficult to impart the flavours of the wine cask to the whisky without overwhelming it.

“Despite the immense challenge, I’m pleased to say that our team has produced a truly exceptional whisky that includes notes of apricot, peach, sweet honeysuckle and spice, all enticed from the Sauternes cask’s influence.”

Tomatin has released 390 bottles of The 1977 expression, which has spent its life maturing in Warehouse Six. The traditional dunnage-style warehouse is where the Highland distiller matures its “most treasured casks”.

Each of the 390 units was decanted into a hand-blown Glencairn Crystal decanter with unique copper decoration. Each bottle is topped with a solid copper stopper and has been packaged with two Glencairn glasses and a numbered certificate.

Bottled at 48% ABV, the whisky is available from specialist retailers including Harrods, The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt.