There was a slightly peculiar Tomintoul 1967 among the latest Malts of Scotland releases. It was (fully?) matured in a rum barrel.

Tomintoul 1967
(51,3%, Malts of Scotland 2012,
rum barrel MoS 12020, 139 btl.)

Nose: a seemingly normal Tomintoul nose. Some fruits (citrus, apricot, melon) and flowers (both dried and fresh). A little heather honey. Quite discreet and quite malty too, nothing stands out of the middle, or so it seems. Mouth: sweet and fruity. A slightly uncommon mix of jams, honey, (quite loud) bitter grapefruit and sweet mocha. Bittersweet in a way that I haven’t seen many times before. It’s coated in a kind of molasse sweetness, but that’s more or less the only reference to rum I could make. Fades on spices (clove, pepper). Finish: warm, quite long, with peppery oak and a quieter bitterness now.

A bit of a mixed bag in my opinion. The nose is nice, smooth and slightly tame, but the palate is quite explosive in terms of heat and bitterness. Interesting stuff, though not the obvious winner like some of the other 1960’s Tomintouls. Around € 190.

Score: 86/100