Side by side : Independent Tomintoul

Tomintoul isn't a distillery I've tried any drams from before - these two independents - a 12yo from Cadenhead and a 14yo from Chorlton are the first I've tried.

Let see how they compare side by side!

What I'm trying here are a 12yo ex-bourbon and a 14yo ex-sherry casked drams, both are Natural colour, NCF, Single Cask and Cask Strength.

Dram	Cadenheads 12yo	Chorlton's 14yo
Characteristics	54.9% ABV Authentic Collection D: '06, B: Nov '18, 240 bottles Bourbon Hogshead	57.6% ABV B: '19, 455 bottles Sherry Butt
Distillery info	Nose: Maltloaf, salted butter, spiced apples and grape skins. Flavour: Hints of rhubarb and raspberries, toffee shortbread, sesame seeds and fresh pineapple chunks. Finish: Syrupy, hints of black pepper and then lashing of honey with traces of aniseed and almonds.	A fully sherry-matured single cask Speysider at an everyday price? Why ever not! This one has dark berry fruits, honey and toasted teacake on the nose. The palate is creamy, with lemon drops, caramelised pears and an earthy and toasty cardamom spiciness, leading into a hazelnut and dried fruit finish. An affable and quaffable dram, but by no means dull.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Pale gold in the glass, almost white wine, swirls turn immediately to tiny beads and fall as slow thin legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line on the glass which slowly bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Immediately astringent on the nose - nail polish remover and a little hint of smoke. I think this needs a little time in the glass. Orchard fruit and mixed fruit jam are offered after a little time in the glass.	Strawberry jam and a little dunnage warehouse, there's a little sweetness - hints of honey and boiled sweets. There's a note of sweet smoke in here too.
Palate	Thick, slightly watery arrival but immediately spicy. There are some tropical fruit and warm porridge notes. The orchard fruit from the nose is there along with a little floral influence. A dry fizz is left on the tongue as the liquid disappears.	Again slightly watery arrival with lots of spice. Immediately drying with some berry notes from the sherry cask. There is that hint of smoke again and a syrupy citrus sweetness. Again a dry fizz on the tongue.
Finish	Long dry and spicy - oaky vanilla and chilli notes.	Long drying spicy finish, some dried fruit and chilli spice.
Overall	Both of these drams shared fruit/floral/spicy characteristics (is that the Tomintoul distillery signature?) but the different casks added a little to that - tropical fruit and vanilla from the Cadenhead's bourbon and strawberry jam and dried fruit from the Chorlton's sherry cask. But to be honest I didn't enjoy either of these drams, this is probably the first I've not been impressed with from either bottler. It is the first time I've tried Tomintoul so I need to rectify that and try some of the distillery's own bottlings - maybe they will be better?

Many thanks to @WhiskeyCyclist and @stewedwhisky for the drample swap.