Whisky World

With Richard Elias

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ONE of the world's biggest annual cultural events begins next month and one Highland distiller has announced a new release to mark the occasion.

The 2026 Lunar New Year is the Year of the Horse a symbol of strength, vitality and adventure in the Chinese Zodiac. Tomatin has released a highly-limited new single cask whisky to coincide with the start of the two-week-long celebrations on Tuesday, February 17.

It is a 2011 single cask bottling, matured in a first-fill Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry butt.

The cask used to create “Tomatin Year of the Horse 2026” is, known as a “bota gorda” and is larger than a standard sherry butt.

It has been sourced directly from a bodega in Jerez in southern Spain.

Its use in a sherry solera has added depth and intense PX flavours to the whisky, while its size helps the more subtle complexities of the Tomatin spirit to shine.

Non-chill filtered and natural in colour, Tomatin Year of the Horse 2026 is presented in the distillery's signature bottle finished with ornate artwork detailed on a red label.

In Chinese beliefs, the colour symbolises good fortune, positivity and energy at Lunar New Year.