Tobermory's 24 Year Old is drawn from stocks laid down well before the distillery's 2017–2019 silent period, and therefore represents whisky distilled under the pre-refurbishment regime. The long maturation in ex-bourbon and refill hogsheads, conducted in the distillery's seafront warehouses on Mull, has given the spirit time to develop the waxy, tropical-fruit character that older Tobermory is quietly known for.
Bottled at 46.3% ABV, non-chill-filtered and naturally coloured in keeping with the distillery's current presentation standards, this is a considered release rather than a bombastic one. At nearly a quarter-century in the cask the whisky has softened into something honeyed, polished and layered, with the Mull sea air contributing a restrained coastal undertow rather than any dramatic brine.
Tobermory's history has been rocky — silent periods in the 1930s, 1970s and 2010s, multiple owners and a reputation that has never quite settled — but the stocks that survive from its working years can be genuinely excellent, and long-aged unpeated Mull whisky is a rare beast worth paying attention to.
At this age the distillery character speaks for itself, and the 24 Year Old is the sort of bottling that rewards slow, deliberate drinking rather than comparison-tasting. A fine expression of what a quiet Hebridean warehouse can do given enough time.
