How an award winning distillery has paired whiskies with championship golf courses

A top distillery behind the reigning best whisky in the world is teeing up a unique new club collection - by pairing a trio of its whiskies with three of Scotland’s most prized championship golf courses. Tomatin whisky’s new drive has seen it match a flight of its best single malts with each of the courses hosting this year’s £50k top prize Highland Golf Links Pro Am, which gets underway with 75 teams on Monday 30 September.

Royal Dornoch - judged to be second in the World’s Greatest Golf Course by sporting bible Golf Digest ahead of the famous St Andrews - four times Scottish Open host Cabot Highlands, and Nairn which broke into the world top 100 rankings earlier this year, have all had their distinct courses matched with whisky tasting notes.

Each course provided an outline of how players described the challenge, conditions and surrounding environment of playing their greens, which were given to experts at Tomatin who added their own first hand playing knowledge. They then had the task of matching the complexities of flavouring from their collections to the distinct characteristics of each course, which will be served up to whisky and golf fans as a flight for the first time at this year’s event.

Jeremy Matte, head of golf and operations at Cabot Highlands and lead for the HGL Pro Am event said: “There’s simply no other part of Scotland that offers a flavour of views and quality of golf in the way we can, so the chance to also match that unique experience with the best whiskies in the world with Tomatin was such a wonderful opportunity.

“All our clubhouses are already very well acquainted with Tomatin given its popularity among our members and its status as the world’s best dram, so their ongoing support and sponsorship for the Pro Am has been a real source of pride for us.

“But this progression and level of detail and consideration is something that really has been a stroke of genius, is unique to our collective, and a proper focus of curiosity for players, members and visitors alike to try.”

Jeremy Matte and the Tomatin whisky | John Paul Photography

How have Tomatin paired whisky with golf courses?

Tomatin’s pairing menu and reasoning for each course was as follows:

• Royal Dornoch: Tomatin 18 Year Old - ‘Complex, Elegant, Delightful’
• Cabot Highlands: Tomatin Legacy - ‘Youthful, bright, fresh and very approachable’
• Nairn: Cask Strength - ‘Muscular, packs a punch, very intense’

Tomatin, who are sponsoring the HGL Pro Am, are also putting up a 45 year old bottle for the professional event winner, a 36 year old charity prize for My Name’5 Doddie foundation, special edition bottles for all those taking part, and a cask for anyone bagging a hole in one.

But it is the first time the distillery, which is sited nearby just a few miles south of Inverness, and the Highland Links Golf courses have partnered on a whisky pairing with the clubs, which will be available to players, members and visitors alike.

Speaking on the HGL podcast, Tomatin whisky expert Alistair Ferns said it had been a tough task finding the perfect match for each. He said: “That was a very, very tough task I have to say. I think on a very simplistic level some people might think oldest whisky, oldest golf course. But the enjoyable part would be getting to know our whiskies a little bit better and then giving it a bit of thought after they have sampled the whiskies. I would do it that way.”

A keen golfer himself, he added: “When I first started here I was quite surprised but pleased to find my employer supports Scottish golf to that extent. The enjoyment of whisky to me is very much to do with time, place and company. It’s who you are with, it’s where you are, and it’s the occasion. We’re just fortunate Tomatin supplies liquid in the bottle that compliments any occasion.”

Castle Stuart Golf Links | Stephen Szurlej

Alastair’s Tomatin whisky pairing menu

“I paired Dornoch with our 18 year old whisky. I stuck with what I’d call our accessible range, and I would say our 18 year old is at the top of that. It’s won gold at the International Wine and Spirits Awards for the last three years. It’s complex, it's elegant, it’s delightful, so I think that goes very well with Dornoch.

“I’ve paired Cabot Highlands with our Legacy. Legacy is youthful, bright, fresh and very approachable. It is the course I’ve played most recently, and no matter all the visits I’ve made, I’ve always enjoyed it. No matter what other more expensive, older whiskies I’ve enjoyed, I still enjoy a glass of legacy too.

“My impression of Nairn is it's pretty muscular, it packs a punch, and the golf there can be very intense. I’ve paired it with our cask strength whisky which is matured in bourbon and sherry barrels, is 57.5% alcohol, so it can be a challenge for some people but very very enjoyable, packed full of flavour and if you treat it the right way, it will be very satisfying.”

Tomatin 18 year old is priced at £120 and you can buy it here.

Tomatin Legacy is priced around £35 and you can buy it here.

Tomatin cask strength is priced at £55 and you can buy it here