Tomintoul (Infrequent Flyers) - "Deployment 9"

10 Year Old - Oloroso finish - Cask No. 6217 - 57.8%

And just like that Deployment 9 appeared. That seemed to happen really quickly, but it's actually been almost 6 months since the previous release for me.

For this release, I pestered Alistair Walker of Infrequent Flyers hoping I could convince him to do a cask for the SBWAS group.

Expecting a bit of resistance, it turned out that he didn't need any persuading at all, as he was more than happy to collaborate and do something for the group. He also provided me with so many samples to try that it sent me into a spiral of confusion on which one I had to pick. What a top man and a great problem to have.

For Deployment 9, I chose this Tomintoul as the winner as it was:

• Ridiculously rich, heavy & sherried

• A distillery that I haven't done before

• Leaning towards a younger whisky

• Something we could strike really good price on

• I was confident people would love it

This Deployment release is also from a single Hogshead. Because of this only 351 bottles were liberated and bottled at a hefty 57.8%. And trust me when I say it's dark, ridiculously sweet, chewy and delicious (undiluted!) - you could pour this on ice cream.

Appearance: Maple syrup, long oily legs.

Nose: Macerated sultanas, cherry pie, fresh pastry, “Refresher chews” vanilla pods, an old petrol lawnmower, sponge cake mix, faint pipe tobacco, Cola Cubes. To say this is a total mix of varied notes that hit the nose with a solid slap is an understatement.

Palate: Extra-ordinarily rich sweetness. Victoria sponge, prune juice, waves of muscovado sugar, sherry-soaked oak. A faint twang of liquorice root comes in at the end. All the while, the distillate is shining though.

Finish: Big, bold and long. There’s the gentlest note of cigar ash mixed with heaps of sweetness. The liquorice note on the palate carries through into the finish.

Conclusion: To use that awful analogy, it’s the absolute epitome of “pudding in a glass” It really is. It’s a fully loaded fruit-soaked-slap-in-your-face sherrybomb that doesn’t hold back. It’s huge and feels much older than a 10 year-old. Whatever Alistair is doing with cask wood management, it’s clearly excellent. Obviously runs in the blood. Superb indeed

A little bit about Tomintoul...

Established in 1965 (according to the official website, although everyone else seems to think it's 1964, so go figure), it is still a relative baby compared to many of it's older Speyside Cousins. Located down the road from the Glenlivet distillery, it's surrounded by natural beauty including the Cairngorms National Park, Golden Eagles, the River Avon, a few castles, and more greenery than a you could wish for.

Available from April 2025 exclusively through Royal Mile Whiskies for £76.95 (at the time of writing)

More about Infrequent Flyers here

More about Tomintoul Distillery here

In the glass!