Tamdhu 1989 / 34 Year Old / Cask #12881 / Connoisseurs Choice Upper Speyside Whisky

Tomas Rivera — One of the best Connoisseurs Choice picks I've tried

9/10

Gordon & MacPhail really nailed it with cask #12881. Thirty-four years in wood and it still has punch at 54.8% — nothing tired or overly tannic about it. I get marmalade, baking spices, and a lovely waxy quality on the nose. Added a few drops of water and it opened up even more. Stunning stuff.

Suki Patel — One of the best Connoisseurs Choice picks I've tried

9/10

Gordon & MacPhail really nailed it with cask #12881. Thirty-four years in wood and it still has punch at 54.8% — nothing tired or overly tannic about it. I get marmalade, baking spices, and a lovely waxy quality on the nose. Added a few drops of water and it opened up even more. Stunning stuff.

Andre Dubois — One of the best Connoisseurs Choice picks I've tried

9/10

Gordon & MacPhail really nailed it with cask #12881. Thirty-four years in wood and it still has punch at 54.8% — nothing tired or overly tannic about it. I get marmalade, baking spices, and a lovely waxy quality on the nose. Added a few drops of water and it opened up even more. Stunning stuff.

Priya Sharma — Beautiful but hard to justify the price

7/10

Look, it's a lovely whisky. Honey, stewed plums, old leather — proper aged Speyside stuff. But at £950 for a single cask bottling I keep thinking about what else I could buy for that money. Three or four excellent 18-year-olds, probably. I'd recommend trying it at a bar before committing to a bottle.

Liam Anderson — Beautiful but hard to justify the price

7/10

Look, it's a lovely whisky. Honey, stewed plums, old leather — proper aged Speyside stuff. But at £950 for a single cask bottling I keep thinking about what else I could buy for that money. Three or four excellent 18-year-olds, probably. I'd recommend trying it at a bar before committing to a bottle.

Aria Kim — Beautiful but hard to justify the price

7/10

Look, it's a lovely whisky. Honey, stewed plums, old leather — proper aged Speyside stuff. But at £950 for a single cask bottling I keep thinking about what else I could buy for that money. Three or four excellent 18-year-olds, probably. I'd recommend trying it at a bar before committing to a bottle.

Mei-Lin Wu — One of the best Connoisseurs Choice picks I've tried

9/10

Gordon & MacPhail really nailed it with cask #12881. Thirty-four years in wood and it still has punch at 54.8% — nothing tired or overly tannic about it. I get marmalade, baking spices, and a lovely waxy quality on the nose. Added a few drops of water and it opened up even more. Stunning stuff.

Victor Osei — One of the best Connoisseurs Choice picks I've tried

9/10

Gordon & MacPhail really nailed it with cask #12881. Thirty-four years in wood and it still has punch at 54.8% — nothing tired or overly tannic about it. I get marmalade, baking spices, and a lovely waxy quality on the nose. Added a few drops of water and it opened up even more. Stunning stuff.

Elena Vasquez — Beautiful but hard to justify the price

7/10

Look, it's a lovely whisky. Honey, stewed plums, old leather — proper aged Speyside stuff. But at £950 for a single cask bottling I keep thinking about what else I could buy for that money. Three or four excellent 18-year-olds, probably. I'd recommend trying it at a bar before committing to a bottle.

Marcus Chen — Beautiful but hard to justify the price

7/10

Look, it's a lovely whisky. Honey, stewed plums, old leather — proper aged Speyside stuff. But at £950 for a single cask bottling I keep thinking about what else I could buy for that money. Three or four excellent 18-year-olds, probably. I'd recommend trying it at a bar before committing to a bottle.

Ingrid Holm — Worth every penny for a special occasion

9/10

Picked this up for my 60th birthday and I'm glad I did. At 34 years old the sherry influence is incredible — dried fruits, dark chocolate, and this lingering spice that just keeps going. The 54.8% ABV carries it beautifully neat, no water needed. Not an everyday dram at £950 but for what you're getting, I've seen worse value from other aged Speysides.

Rafael Santos — Worth every penny for a special occasion

9/10

Picked this up for my 60th birthday and I'm glad I did. At 34 years old the sherry influence is incredible — dried fruits, dark chocolate, and this lingering spice that just keeps going. The 54.8% ABV carries it beautifully neat, no water needed. Not an everyday dram at £950 but for what you're getting, I've seen worse value from other aged Speysides.

Isla McCallister — Worth every penny for a special occasion

9/10

Picked this up for my 60th birthday and I'm glad I did. At 34 years old the sherry influence is incredible — dried fruits, dark chocolate, and this lingering spice that just keeps going. The 54.8% ABV carries it beautifully neat, no water needed. Not an everyday dram at £950 but for what you're getting, I've seen worse value from other aged Speysides.

Felix Moreau — Smooth old Speyside with depth

8/10

Tried this neat at a friend's house and spent the next hour just nosing the empty glass. Rich toffee and dried apricot with a hint of smoke that surprised me for a Speyside. It drinks easier than the ABV suggests. I wouldn't buy a bottle at that price point but I'm very happy I got to experience it.

Adaobi Eze — Smooth old Speyside with depth

8/10

Tried this neat at a friend's house and spent the next hour just nosing the empty glass. Rich toffee and dried apricot with a hint of smoke that surprised me for a Speyside. It drinks easier than the ABV suggests. I wouldn't buy a bottle at that price point but I'm very happy I got to experience it.

Haruki Sato — Smooth old Speyside with depth

8/10

Tried this neat at a friend's house and spent the next hour just nosing the empty glass. Rich toffee and dried apricot with a hint of smoke that surprised me for a Speyside. It drinks easier than the ABV suggests. I wouldn't buy a bottle at that price point but I'm very happy I got to experience it.

Daniel Torres — Classic old Speyside character

8/10

Had a dram of this at a tasting event and was impressed. The nose is all Christmas cake and polished oak, exactly what you'd hope for from an 80s distillation. I found it dries out slightly on the finish which kept it from being a perfect ten for me, but the mid-palate richness is fantastic.

Olivia Park — Classic old Speyside character

8/10

Had a dram of this at a tasting event and was impressed. The nose is all Christmas cake and polished oak, exactly what you'd hope for from an 80s distillation. I found it dries out slightly on the finish which kept it from being a perfect ten for me, but the mid-palate richness is fantastic.

James Okafor — Classic old Speyside character

8/10

Had a dram of this at a tasting event and was impressed. The nose is all Christmas cake and polished oak, exactly what you'd hope for from an 80s distillation. I found it dries out slightly on the finish which kept it from being a perfect ten for me, but the mid-palate richness is fantastic.

Tariq Hassan — Worth every penny for a special occasion

9/10

Picked this up for my 60th birthday and I'm glad I did. At 34 years old the sherry influence is incredible — dried fruits, dark chocolate, and this lingering spice that just keeps going. The 54.8% ABV carries it beautifully neat, no water needed. Not an everyday dram at £950 but for what you're getting, I've seen worse value from other aged Speysides.