TOMATIN DISTILLERY ROLLS BACK THE YEARS WITH NEW FILL CASK AUCTION
Monday 9th November 2020 – Tomatin Distillery has today announced an exclusive online auction of rare whiskies, including a new fill Tomatin cask, hosted and supported by The Grand Whisky Auction, in support of its long-time charity partner, Maggie’s Highlands.
Tomatin is expecting to add a £10,000 donation to Maggie’s 2020 fund raising efforts with proceeds from the auction to bolster the charity’s cancer support network in the Highlands and Islands.
To mark the occasion, Tomatin is offering a one-off opportunity for whisky enthusiasts to purchase a new fill ex-Bourbon Tomatin barrel, a service which is not currently offered by the Highland distillery. The lucky bidder will have the opportunity to experience filling their own cask on site at the distillery, and roll the barrel into the Tomatin warehouse, where it will remain until it is matured.
The auction will also offer an array of vintage products, including a 90cl 1967 cask bottled in 1997 to celebrate the distillery’s centenary and Tomatin’s oldest whisky to date, a 5cl 50-Year-Old, boasting aromas of fresh oak and sweet apples.
Budding connoisseurs will also be able to bid on a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the Tomatin Distillery, which, led by Master Distiller Graham Eunson, will allow unprecedented access to all areas of the distillery with a bespoke tasting and lunch included.
In total, 11 rare and limited-edition lots* will be on offer, with the aim to topple Tomatin’s total charitable donations to Maggie’s Highlands since 2018, over the £50,000 barrier.
Graham Eunson, Master Distiller at Tomatin, said: “It feels special to open up the Tomatin archives for such a great cause. This has been an extremely difficult time for the charity sector, and we hope to raise some much-needed funds to support Maggie’s in continuing the specialist support they provide. The auction will also offer the public, and investors, a remarkable opportunity to purchase some priceless products and experiences.”
Andrew Benjamin, Centre Fundraising Manager at Maggie’s Highlands said: “We are excited to be adding this auction to the growing list of fundraising activities Tomatin has kindly organised on behalf of Maggie’s Highlands, since 2018. The money raised by this auction with enable us to continue providing vital support to cancer patients here in the Highlands.”
Tomatin Distillery’s previous fundraising activities for Maggie’s Highlands include an annual corporate golf day at Castle Stuart Golf Links and the Lockdown Whisky Festival – an award-winning virtual tasting held earlier this year, garnering over 10,000 live participants.
Whisky fans can begin bidding on the exclusive list of Tomatin products from 6th – 16th November, via the auction hosted by The Grand Whisky Auction here https://www.thegrandwhiskyauction.com/live-auction.
Notes:
*The full list of bottles and experiences available via The Grand Whisky Auction are listed below;
New 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel 2020/2
This is an unprecedented chance to be the owner of a new 1st Fill Bourbon Tomatin single malt cask that will be filled by hand and held in bond at The Tomatin Distillery. This opportunity has never been granted before. The winner will be invited to the distillery to fill their cask at a mutually agreed time. Cask numbers are sequential and it will the next cask in line at the time.
This is an incredibly rare single cask from 1970, a year we no longer have stock of. It was bottled in August 2007 at a cask strength of 51.2% ABV and was never released for general sale but was instead sold exclusively at our visitor centre or through our online store.
Another example of an incredibly rare vintage from Tomatin and one of the very few casks we have from that decade that have been fully matured in an Oloroso Sherry Butt. This remarkable cask was personally selected by Master Distiller, Graham Eunson, to be bottled in May 2014 yielding 405 bottles at a cask strength of 42.3% ABV.
The Tomatin 36 Year Old has become a highly anticipated annual release and won the coveted “Best Scotch” award at the 2017 San Francisco Spirits Competition. Batch #1 was a marriage of just two casks, a Refill Hogshead and an Oloroso Sherry Butt, distilled in 1977. It was bottled in March 2015 and is limited to just 800 bottles.
This Tomatin was matured in cask No. 994, an ex-bourbon barrel and is one of 172 bottles produced. It’s a smooth, full bodied malt, distilled on the 18/01/1980 and bottled on 07/08/2008.
This 2007 edition was the first ever 30 year old bottling from the distillery which, like the 36 year old, has grown to become a hotly anticipated annual release. Unlike all succeeding editions, this first edition was limited to 1,500 bottles, finished in Oloroso Sherry Butts and bottled at a higher strength of 49.3%.
Distilled in May 1967 and bottled in October 2007 this incredible 40 year old expression was fully matured in traditional hogsheads and limited to 1614 bottles.
This whisky, distilled in 1967, was bottled in 1997 to mark the 100th anniversary of the distillery. In total 1,000 bottles were produced of which the first 200 were bottled at 90cl and presented to staff and attendees of the centenary luncheon held on the third of September. This is one of the incredibly rare 200 90cl bottles.
5cl 50-year-old (bottled 2018)
A miniature bottle of Tomatin 50 Year Old Highland single malt Scotch whisky. This was distilled in 1967, matured in first fill Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 45.3% ABV. In late 2018 just 70 bottles of our oldest whisky to date were released, each accompanied by a 5cl miniature.
The Tomatin Five Virtues Series was a quintet of whiskies that celebrated the five elements that contribute towards whisky production; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. With only 6,000 bottles of each expression produced, the collection featured artwork by Eva Ullrich and was launched in 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn3tZ6moz-o&feature=emb_logo
Behind the Scenes Tour of Tomatin Distillery
Led by Master Distiller Graham Eunson, will allow unprecedented access to all areas of the distillery with a bespoke tasting and lunch included.
Tomatin Distillery has been producing and blending malt Scotch whisky since 1897. Over the last 50 years, the distillery has borne witness to vast change. At its peak in the 1970s, Tomatin was the largest distillery in Scotland, operating 23 stills and producing 12 million litres of alcohol every year. Over the last decade, significant time has been invested in rediscovering the distillery, people and values, and in refining the business model to move away from the formerly lucrative bulk commodity market to now focus on Tomatin’s core range of single malts.
Tomatin is located in the Scottish Highlands (near Inverness) and is famous for its portfolio of soft and mellow whiskies, including a core range, a limited-edition range and a premium archive range (prices range from £35 – £10,000). In the last ten years, Tomatin has secured over 60 prestigious awards in a variety of categories, and in 2019 the distillery celebrated its most successful year ever at the San Francisco World Spirit Competition, securing seven Double Gold awards and four Gold awards.