During a visit to a local liquor mart, I came across a bottle of 10-year-old whisky for $30. While the price caught my eye, I noticed that the Tamdhu was a whisky that I had not tasted. So, not one to pass up a bargain especially for a whisky on my list, I picked up a bottle of Tamdhu 10.

Now, Tamdhu was a Speyside distillery that dated back to 1897 and despite some long periods where the distillery was dormant produced 4 million gallons of alcohol annually. You may have noticed that I referred to Tamdhu in the past tense. Sadly, the distillery was mothballed in April, 2010. It had been owned by the Edrington Group, the folks that bring us The Macallan, Highland Park and the fine rum, Brugal. They are also responsible for the blended whiskies, The Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark. Apparently, Tamdhu had played a role in the blending process and very little of its production was bottled under the Tamdhu name. After opening this bottle, I could see why.

The whisky had the typical butterscotch aroma and was slightly darker than apple juice. However, the initial flavor was alcohol followed by a medicinal quality, not quite mouthwash not quite medicine … a bit like Listerine but without the final spicy bite (or the breath freshening quality). With the addition of water, there was very little change to the aroma but it did soften the medicinal taste a bit. While not one of the better whiskies that I have sampled, I could certainly see this in a mixed drink.