
July 6, 2016

Three independent Auchentoshan

Getting ready for summer, which should last from July 15th to August 15th this year in Alsace (who said just like in Scotland, who?) Indeed June’s sunny days are gone already.

Auchentoshan 13 yo 2002/2015 (46%, Douglas Laing, Provenance, refill hogshead, cask #1096)

Colour: white wine. Nose: starts very citric, lemony, with whiffs of muscadet (on lees) and then rather cut cactus, grass, cider apples, not too ripe gooseberries... So very angular, almost blade-y one, let's see... Mouth: a wee bit sweeter and rounder, but globally very tart, 'green' Sancerre-like, with plenty and plenty of lemons and grapefruits. One of the most lemony whiskies I could try this year - so far. Finish: same, for a moderately long time. After just five minutes, you're thinking you've just had a glass of limoncello. Comments: neither deep nor complex, but pristinely lemony. SGP:551 - 80 points.

Auchentoshan 23 yo 1992/2015 (45,7%, Eiling Lim, 132 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: similar style, except that the tart fruitiness is wider, possibly thanks to the extra-years of maturing. So lemon and grapefruit again, but also peaches and pink bananas, as well as touches of guavas. In a way, it's a rather Littlemilly Auchentoshan, if I may. Which is good, of course. Mouth: same feelings, even if it's more citric again. Lemon, both as fresh fruits and as drops, marshmallows, green apples, and once again a development that's rather tropical, around passion fruits. or there, passion fruit sherbet, how summery is that? Good body, perfect drinking strength. Finish: medium, very refreshing, with more passion fruits and touches of citrons. Corsican citron liqueur? Comments: really very good, the fresh fruitiness is impeccable. Where have I put my swimsuit? SGP:641 - 87 points.

Auchentoshan 17 yo (55.5%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, 2016)

A brand new one. Vintage and picture are yet to be found by this lazy whisky blogger at time of writing. Colour: white wine. Nose: makes the two previous ones round and soft. This one cuts you in two halves, with an extreme, very cactussy (come on!) grassiness, and twenty wheelbarrows full of lime and green grapefruits. With water: becomes gentler, very fruit-salady. Cut apples, pears, oranges, tangerine sweets... Mouth (neat): lemon juice mixed with the sharpest green tea, plus a dash of wasabi powder. What's great is that you can count your vertebras while it goes down. One, two, three... With water: I'm not sure anybody ever tried to distil lemon. I've tasted orange eau-de-vie, and it was a little nasty. This is way nicer! Finish: medium, ultra-zesty, clean, fresh, getting extremely lime-y. Comments: some kind of readymade Scottish mojito. Another one for the poolside. SGP:651 - 86 points. UPDATE: it's a 1999/2016

Check the index of all Auchentoshan I've tasted so far