Tamdhu debuts 43YO whisky

Speyside distillery Tamdhu has launched the Dedicated Collection, starting off with the release of a 43-year-old whisky.

The collection will feature the distillery’s 'oldest, rarest and most limited' whiskies, with each expression exclusively matured in oloroso Sherry casks. In total, the collection will comprise eight releases, including four for global travel retail (GTR). The whisky was made with water from Tamdhu’s natural spring and matured for more than four decades, aged only in three oloroso Sherry-seasoned oak casks. Non-chill filtered, it has notes of treacle toffee, dried coriander, berries, citrus and dried spice on the nose. On the palate, drinkers may find ‘deep Sherry, orange, blackcurrant, molasses, chocolate coconut and hints of coffee’. The finish is then described as ‘long with Sherry oak, and hints of lemon and dried berries’. Only 100 bottles are available – each numbered individually and presented in a hand-crafted, octagonal, wooden and classic brushed metal box, and within a bespoke hand-blown crystal Victorian-style decanter. Distillery manager Sandy McIntyre said: “At Tamdhu, our whisky is the ultimate artistic expression. So to launch this landmark collection we didn’t want to get side-tracked by gimmicks. Or look away from our whisky. Because it’s there, in the spirit itself, you see our craft, passion and dedication." Buyers of the whisky will also get a personal invite from McIntyre for an exclusive stay at the closed-to-public Tamdhu distillery in Speyside. Bottled at 50.8% ABV, Tamdhu 43 Years Old retails for £13,500 (US$17,735) globally via domestic specialist retailers. To celebrate the launch, the distillery has teamed up with photomicrographer Peter Woitschikowski, who has captured photos – using a microscope fixed to a high-resolution camera – of the spirit up close. Speaking of his imagery and the use of a microscope to offer a closer look of the spirit, Woitschikowski added: “You never know how the images will come out. And every picture is different and unique. "Tamdhu was a special case because the whisky is so pure. So perfect. We had to add extracts to create the crystallisation required. The results are quite beautiful, I believe.” The whisky was photographed at 43 times magnification, which represented a microscope spin for every year the whisky matured in the Sherry oak. As a canvas, Woitschikowski crystallised the whisky with natural extracts inspired by the tasting notes of orange, coffee and lemon. Tamdhu is owned by Ian Macleod Distillers and all of its whiskies are aged exclusively in Sherry casks. The brand celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2022.