NOTES: Creamy and sweet, the aroma was loaded with cooked sugars— caramel, butterscotch, and toffee cookies. Spirited and peppery at times, the aroma was unmistakably youthful with hints of shoe polish appearing along currant jam. Medium-bodied on the palate and quite peppery with plenty of youthful spirit, the flavors ran in reverse with jammy currants and fruits leading off and more creamy caramel and butterscotch arriving at the end. The finish was medium-length and spirited with jammy fruits.

SCORE: 5-6 (75)

IMAGE: Upscale Pancake Bar Toppings

THOUGHTS: This felt less refined than the first Tormore 10 Year I reviewed here, with far more youthful spirit coming through. A few drops of water tamed a bit of the peppery quality, but further pushed up the caramel so that the cooked sugars turned a bit bitter at the end. The sherry cask felt more or less a background player here, raising up some of the dark fruits, but perhaps paving over some of the softer tropical citrus in the process. Overall, a pleasant enough sipper, but not one I would turn to again.

NOTES: Fruity, creamy, and malty the aroma featured sweet tangerine cream puffs, pandesal, lychee, and white chocolate. Medium-bodied and oily on the palate, the flavors were familiar with lemon bars and lemony custard leading to tangerine shortbread cookies and a touch of pineapple jam. Salty li hing powder sat further in with pandesal and candied citrus rind. Over time the whisky grew juicier, though some peppery spice always waited at the end. The finish was medium to long with pepper, butter, and shortbread cookies.

SCORE: 8 (87)

IMAGE: Cookie Purveyor in the Tropics

THOUGHTS: When Tormore grows up, this is what it wants to be. This took common elements from the much younger ones reviewed above and refined them so that the whisky was richer, more complex, and better balanced. Yet, there was still a bit of spirit poking out at an odd angle, so that not all of the rough edges had been smoothed down over the two and a half decades this sat in the cask. Overall, a tasty and tropical affair, this is the profile that brings me back to Tormore.

NOTES: A hefty wave of dried fruits and vanilla bean rolled in with barrel aged maple syrup. A touch of lacquered wood and baking chocolate hung in the background, a tease of bitterness alongside strawberry rhubarb. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, the whisky was thick and hefty with strawberry jam and rhubarb pie, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and a touch of rich balsamic at times. Despite the age, the whisky was peppery and spirited, especially toward the end when more chocolate appeared. The finish was medium-length and drying with peppercorns and dried fruits.

SCORE: 7 (83)

IMAGE: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

THOUGHTS: For a sherry bomb, this was rather nice. It was spicy and spirited, a lively whisky that had not really mellow out at all by two and half decades in the cask. I love the big tropical 1995 Glenburgie that are out there, but this was something else entirely. It was cask dominant and not altogether very subtle— I know this style is well-loved by those who enjoy big punchy fruity flavors and the deep color, but it is not my jam. Overall, this was good for the style, and maybe I am just biased toward Glenburgie, even if this did not convey much of the distillery character I search for.