TOMATIN 1962-1989 27 Year Old Cadenhead Black Dumpy 46%

With this specification and this hardness, it's hard to believe. TOMATIN TOMATIN 1962-1989 27yo Cadenhead 46% BLACK DUMPY BOTTLE The aroma is initially closed, with no nuances of bottle aging, and surprisingly hard for its specs. There's a tropical fruitiness, but it's still in the background, emerging over time and seeming like it will come out even more. In contrast, what's upfront is a peatiness reminiscent of tar and ink. It has the inland peat character often associated with old Highland malts, and this is the first time I've felt it so prominently in TOMATIN. The drinkable fruitiness is deep, with a slightly restrained sweetness and dryness. The body is surprisingly well-preserved, leaving behind the same tar and ink-like peatiness in its finish. [Good/Very Good, Interesting] This is TOMATIN 1962, aged for 27 years in a Black Cadenhead bottle. I tasted it at Karusō in Shinjuku, before having the Benriach 1966. As this was a tasting away from home, the style of my notes may differ slightly from usual, so please bear with that. As mentioned above, the original Haugh style fruitiness hasn't fully emerged yet, but it was an extremely interesting aroma. Incidentally, the first bottle that the master opened had a more obvious nuance of yellow fruit. Given its long aging and 46% dilution, the amount of water added may not have been excessive. However, it's astonishing how little deterioration is noticeable. Rather than that, it has a clear old-style peatiness, yet strangely lacks the typical elements of an old bottle due to aging in the bottle. This is a diluted bottle aged nearly 30 years since bottling, and in the context of Black Cadenhead's usual image of deterioration, it felt like drinking a freshly bottled distillate from the 1960s with bottling in the 1980s. I think the master carefully preserved a bottle in good condition, ensuring it wasn't left dormant. Thanks to that, I had a very rare experience. I would like to drink it again before it's gone.