Tamdhu releases 50yo anniversary whisky
Ian Macleod Distillers is celebrating the 120th anniversary of its Speyside distillery Tamdhu with the launch of a 50-year-old single malt – the brand’s oldest bottling to date.
Priced £16,000 (US$20,000), Tamdhu 50 Year Old is a single cask whisky that has been aged in a first fill European oak Sherry butt. It is said to have a flavour of cloves, liquorice, espresso and baked apples, with a “lingering finish” of cocoa, ginger, walnuts and maple syrup. A team of British designers worked together to create the whisky’s bespoke decanter, including glass specialist Katy Holford, crystal maker Royal Brierley, and the silversmiths at luxury jewellery house Hamilton & Inches's. Each decanter is housed in a solid stained oak cannister featuring Hamilton & Inches hallmarked sterling silver. The pack’s design also depicts the location of Tamdhu Distillery on the Spey River, its Victorian train station and Sherry casks. “What makes this whisky really special to us is that it represents the rebirth of the distillery,” said Leonard Russell, managing director of Ian Macleod Distillers. “There was a time, before we bought and reopened Tamdhu, when some thought it was gone forever. This cask, which may never have been released had the distillery remained closed, can be now enjoyed and savoured, and that is something we want to celebrate.” Just 100 bottles of Tamdhu 50 Year Old have been released globally. Ian Macleod Distillers reinvented Tamdhu as an exclusively sherried whisky following its purchase of the distillery from Edrington in 2011. Aside from some intermittent action during WWII, Tamdhu distillery was in continuous production since its founding in 1897 up until Edrington mothballed the site in 2010.
