Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 92 |
| Style |
Scotch Whiskey |
| Produced In | Scotland |
| ABV | 41.7% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $8,300.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2024-05-28 |
The Last Drop 55 Year Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review
The Last Drop is well known for its highly-aged spirits priced firmly for the luxury market. Release Number 36 is the company’s oldest age-stated single malt to date: a 55 year old whisky from Tomintoul Distillery. (The whisky itself was first laid down when Tomintoul was under five years old.)
The Scotch in this release spent a little over 53 years aging across six original casks. The barrels were then blended together and aged for an additional 20 months in an Amoroso sherry butt before finally being bottled at 83.4 proof.
It’s not every day we get to sample a 55 year single malt. Let’s dive in on The Last Drop’s latest release to see how it tastes!
The Last Drop 55 Year Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch: Pricing and Availability
The Last Drop’s bottlings are toward the upper end of super-premium retail pricing, and the latest from Tomintoul is no exception. Suggested retail for this release is $8,300 in the American market. A total of 582 bottles will be available for purchase and in select on-premise accounts.
The Last Drop 55 Year Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch Review
As with all VinePair whisky reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
Dark, dried fruits start on the nose, the scents rich and sweetly decadent, especially for a whisky coming in at under 84 proof. Figs, black raisins, dark plum, and candied papaya lie at the nose’s core. Hints of lilac linger just underneath. Layered lightly on top of both those scent categories is cured oak, almost reminiscent of a toasted oak finish in all its wood-sugar glory.
The aromas don’t change in the glass as much as they deepen. The sweetness darkens from fruit and wood sugars to caramel, and lighter elements of dough become more noticeable; it’s moving into the territory of brandy-soaked bread pudding, dotted liberally with black raisins.
Taste
Fruit and black walnut lead on the tongue, just slightly nuttier and less sweet than the nose implied. That bread pudding now layers in chopped nuts and a hefty dose of baking spices to go along with the raisins.
Macerated ginger connects from the front of the tongue back through the midpalate, slightly too astringent to be likened to the candied variety but adding some welcome depth nonetheless. Picking apart the individual dried fruits yields rum-soaked figs, prunes, and the expected black raisins.
The mouthfeel is fairly thin, a slight knock against an otherwise powerfully flavorful dram. That doesn’t mean the whisky doesn’t convey its flavors, and indeed, there’s more than enough left on the tongue to keep things compelling. I can’t help but imagine more viscosity punching this remarkable Scotch up a few rungs. Then again, a 55 year-old single malt sets a high bar right out of the gate; lofty expectations will ensue.
Finish
The finish is long but comes in two distinct parts. It starts as a continuation of that heavily-spiced fruit, carrying an aged-brandy quality. That drops off quickly — perhaps a function of the low viscosity — and leaves behind a light coating of walnut oil, the sweetness fully transitioning from fruit to oak. A lasting salinity reminds me of the aftertaste of mineral-heavy Brazil nuts: rich and slightly buttery, but in this case not nearly as transcendent as the nose.
The Last Drop 55 Year Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch Rating
92/100
Recap
The Last Drop’s 55 Year Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch kicks off with a deep and layered nose befitting of the whisky’s impressive pedigree, a high barrier to clear. The liquid brings similarly complex flavors to the palate, though a somewhat thin mouthfeel ultimately yields flavors that dart around the tongue instead of fully building to the desired crescendo.
Ultimately, this is a delicious, fascinating Scotch — but even after 55 years of aging, it’s possible to find a couple elements that make drinkers think, “It’s great, but I wish…”
*Image retrieved from The Last Drop Distillers
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