SMWS 8.50
This Cow Enjoys Swimming
Single Malt Whisky
61.7% • 700ml • Speyside
7 Bottles Remaining

Set discreetly along the banks of the River Spey, Tamdhu enjoys a sheltered position within the verdant folds of Speyside’s whisky heartland. The distillery’s elegant Victorian architecture, complete with its distinctive pagoda roofs, stands as a quiet testament to the grand ambitions of its founders. Its proximity to the river not only affords it a steady supply of soft, mineral-rich water but situates it firmly among the region’s most revered whisky-making neighbours.
Established in 1897, Tamdhu was born during the whisky boom that swept Scotland at the close of the 19th century. Designed by the famed distillery engineer Charles Doig, it was envisioned from the outset as a thoroughly modern operation. Over the decades it changed hands multiple times, including stints under Highland Distillers and Edrington, often contributing much of its output to blends. In 2011, however, the distillery found a new chapter under the independent stewardship of Ian Macleod Distillers, who restored Tamdhu’s focus on single malt production with renewed pride.
Tamdhu’s approach to production is marked by precision and patience. Traditional wooden washbacks, long fermentation, and carefully managed copper stills contribute to a robust yet elegant new make spirit. The distillery is singularly devoted to maturation in exclusively Oloroso sherry casks, sourced and prepared with great care from Jerez. This unwavering commitment imparts a signature profile of rich dried fruits, nuts, spice, and a luscious, full-bodied sweetness. Tamdhu’s whiskies present a vivid illustration of what dedicated sherry cask maturation can achieve, offering depth and complexity while remaining distinctly Speyside in character.
Hunter Laing has the reassuring air of a family firm that knows exactly what it is about. Established in 2013 by Stewart Laing after the division of Douglas Laing, the company carried forward not only decades of experience in the whisky trade but also a substantial inherited culture of cask selection, blending, and bottling. Its own account places the family in the Scotch whisky business for more than three generations, which helps explain the sense of continuity that runs through the range.
What has distinguished Hunter Laing is its preference for clarity over fuss. The portfolio includes Old Malt Cask, a long-running series of rare and older malts bottled at 50% ABV, alongside the Old & Rare range for cask strength bottlings of greater age and gravitas. There are also more accessible lines such as Hepburn’s Choice and Highland Journey, giving the company a breadth of offering without losing its identity as a bottler concerned with provenance and character. The emphasis is less on theatrical presentation than on letting cask, distillery, and age speak plainly.
In recent years, Hunter Laing has added a distilling chapter of its own through Ardnahoe on Islay, the company’s first distillery. That move feels less like a change of course than a natural extension of the same family ambition: to remain deeply involved in whisky not only at the point of selection and maturation, but at the beginning of the process as well. Even so, the core appeal of Hunter Laing remains much as it has always been, a house style built not around uniformity, but around the conviction that individual casks, honestly presented, are interesting enough on their own.
The below is the average score out of 5 from our members, and the flavour profile which was voted to be the most prominent.