Drinks focus: Tomatin is a storied whisky distillery with a new vision
Founded in 1897, Tomatin was at one point the largest distillery in Scotland, but its fortunes have shifted with the wider industry. After going into liquidation in 1986, it became the first Scottish distillery to come under Japanese control. Much of its stock was sold for blending, and two of its largest customers rescued the company. One of them was Kyoto-based Takara Shuzo, a major producer of the traditional Japanese spirit shōchū, which retains ownership of Tomatin today.
Tomatin has successfully negotiated the boom in single malts over recent years, developing a core range which has appealed to the growing market. Improvements in its approach to maturation, using more first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, has lent greater depth and complexity to what has always been regarded as an excellent spirit. Their core collection now includes Tomatin Legacy, a no age statement entry point whisky, matured in a combination of bourbon barrels and virgin-oak, and the bourbon and sherry cask-aged Tomatin 12 Year Old, which is packed with citrus and orchard fruit flavours, sweet spice, and a hint of lightly toasted tobacco, with an exemplary smooth finish. These are joined by 14 and 18 year old expressions, and a no-nonsense cask strength edition.
These products – along with limited editions, including prestige single malts ranging from 30 to 50 years – have seen Tomatin grow from a top-50 Scotch brand in 2014, to a top-25 brand in 2019. The company hopes that a new advertising push will propel further growth, repositioning Tomatin as one of the world’s leading whisky brands.
This month saw the beginning of its “To What Matters” campaign, an emotional pitch to younger drinkers building on the sense of tradition and community that drives the whiskymakers’ production.
The campaign is designed to remind people about the important things in life. The centrepiece is a film shot in and around the Tomatin Distillery, which lies in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, between Aviemore and Inverness. The film, which tells the story of a girl and her grandfather, will be shown across TV, cinema, and social media platforms, with an initial focus on the London and Scottish regions, before a broader roll-out to raise brand awareness throughout the UK and the rest of the world.
As Tomatin approaches its 125th anniversary, this is an opportunity to look back at the forces that have carried it thus far. It is unusual among Scottish distilleries in that it still provides on-site housing for its workers, and as a consequence there are a number of multi-generational families who have worked for the company. Working and living together so closely has fostered a robust sense of community among Tomatin’s employees, which the campaign implies is the brand’s unique strength.
“In every area of the business, working at Tomatin is more than just a job. It’s a way of life,” says Jennifer Masson, Tomatin’s head of brand. “Authenticity lies at the heart of ‘To What Matters’ and we couldn’t be prouder of what it stands for. We share true Highland warmth in our stories, our welcome, and of course, our whiskies, and if ever the world needed a drop of Highland warmth, it is now.”
• To view the new To What Matters campaign film and the full Tomatin product range, visit the Tomatin website