2008 Tobermory, AD Rattray 8 yo 68.7% (Mull)

North of Islay and Jura is the island of Mull, where the bustling metropolitan capital of Tobermory hosts a waterfront distillery. This began operation way back in 1798, when whisky distilling still operated in a legally grey area. Its fortunes over the last 200 years have mirrored those of the industry as a whole, and the distillery has spent almost as many years closed as open, but it has also produced some cracking whisky over the years. This is a case in point, one of the most maritime malts I have ever come across. Saline and leathery, like a tannery. It makes me think of tarry ropes on the foreshore. Sip this and imagine yourself at the prow of a boat. (NT 09/09/17)