Whisky of the Week: Tormore Blueprint Series

Located near the village of Advie, just half a mile south of the River Spey, Tormore is often referred to as the “Pearl of Speyside.” If you’ve driven past the distillery, you know it fits that description handsomely. It's frequently cited as one of Scotland's most beautiful distilleries, with a neoclassical design that features white granite walls and steepled copper roofing, and a tall clock tower that chimes one of four Scottish tunes every quarter hour.

Despite its size and striking appearance, Tormore has been fairly obscure. Like many of Scotland’s malt distilleries, most of its production historically was dedicated to blending. It was purpose-built in 1958 by a subsidiary of liquor giant Schenley Distillers to supply malt for its Long John blended scotch, and under different owners, its stocks were used for Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal. Some official single malt bottlings were released—most notably a core 12 year old praised for its soft and creamy profile, as well as others released in the 1990s as part of Pernod Ricard’s Caledonian Malts series—but were never a focus. That changed last June when Tormore, now under the ownership of Elixir Distillers, released its Blueprint Series, a set of three single malts that serve as a preview or blueprint of a new Tormore single malt range coming later this year.

A New Era

All the Blueprint expressions were bottled at 48% ABV, and each carries a 10-year age statement. The difference lies in their maturation. Blueprint’s Bourbon Barrel expression is touted as the standard bearer of Tormore’s house style, with a spirit-forward approach supported by aging in first-fill bourbon barrels. The other two are more focused on extracting flavors from barrels: Blueprint Cream Sherry Cask is aged in casks that held cream sherry (a style created by blending sweet PX and drier oloroso), and Blueprint Toasted Barrel is aged in heavy-toast and medium-char virgin American oak.

Elixir has revamped Tormore, bringing on distillery manager Polly Logan and head blender Oliver Chilton to lead the production team in 2023. Chilton, who’s been promoted to master blender, and Logan both undertook the arduous task of rebarreling the bulk of Tormore’s inventory—moving the liquid into higher-quality casks better suited for showcasing the spirit’s fruity profile as single malts rather than merely as a blending component. The Blueprint Series is the initial result of those efforts, having sat in the new casks for a couple of years prior to bottling.

Tormore is a decently large operation, with an annual capacity just below 5 million liters of pure alcohol (LPA). Its scale makes it comparable to distilleries including Loch Lomond, Clynelish, and Ardmore. Its move into single malt is the latest development under Elixir and its owners Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh who purchased the distillery from Pernod Ricard in 2022. At the time Elixir’s portfolio was led by independent bottling labels like Port Askaig, Single Malts of Scotland, and Elements of Islay. Tormore is the first operational distillery under Elixir’s ownership, though soon it will be joined by a second one: its Portintruan Distillery on Islay is under construction and is expected to open this summer.

How Do Tormore Distillery’s Blueprint Single Malts Taste?

94 points—Tormore 10 year old Blueprint Cream Sherry Cask Speyside Single Malt

ABV: 48%
SRP: $80
Availability: Limited

This spent 10 years in cream sherry casks, and it shows. The nose is rich with aromas of vanilla custard, baking spice, cinnamon sugar, molasses, and gingersnaps. There’s spectacular spice on the palate, along with milk chocolate and red fruit. The finish is rich and punchy, and has more fruit and warming chocolate.—Julia Higgins

93 points—Tormore 10 year old Blueprint Bourbon Barrel Speyside Single Malt

ABV: 48%
SRP: $80
Availability: Limited

The nose offers honeysuckle, peaches, marshmallow, and pleasant waxiness. Dessert flavors of honey, vanilla, milk chocolate, and blackberries are abundant on the palate. Good length on the finish, with more apricot, vanilla, chocolate, and spice. Nothing complex to contemplate here, just a great whisky.—David Fleming

92 points—Tormore 10 year old Blueprint Toasted Barrel Speyside Single Malt

ABV: 48%
SRP: $80
Availability: Limited

This is softly sweet on the nose, singing with strawberries and cream, vanilla, and berry parfait. Medium chocolate follows on the palate, accompanied by ripe berries, Fig Newton, and sweet grain. The finish is a tad richer and darker, dripping with powdered sugar, chocolate, whipped cream, and berry syrup.—Julia Higgins