
May 12, 2017

Young Othrusk

Right, that would be Auchroisk. When whisky started on the Web, one of the most popular matters was ‘how to pronounce the names of the Scottish distilleries’. Happy times! So, Auchroisk is Othrusk.

Auchroisk 8 yo 2008/2016 (46%, Douglas Laing, Provenance, cask #11469, 249 bottles)

One of these mad very young whiskies from little-known distilleries that some indies are having these days. Worth bottling as single malts? Sometimes yes, when the distillate is characterful, and sometimes no (when it just isn’t). Colour: pale white wine. Nose: warm porridge, leaven, bread dough at the baker’s early in the morning, very fresh kougelhopf, lemon peel, and just ale. Is that pleasant? I say it is. Mouth: impressed. All the fresh pastries in the world, plus some orange blossom water and some light acacia honey, then sweet barley. But this is not only barley eau-de-vie, mind you. Finish: medium, very clean, close to the grain, and appropriately sweet. Comments: a great surprise. A bottle to taste alongside some white mezcals and high-esters rums. SGP:551 - 86 points.

So obviously, we want more…

Auchroisk 8 yo 2008/2016 (46%, Douglas Laing, Provenance, refill hogshead, cask #11190)

This one is actually younger than its sibling, since it was bottled four months earlier. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: this cask was a little lighter, it seems. I get more pear juice, and perhaps more fresh herbs, mint, parsley, dill… Now it’s no less lovely, and I particularly enjoy this development on aniseed and lilies of the valley. Mouth: we’re extremely close to the other one, but indeed there is a little more mint, and lime. Almost some readymade mojito! The freshness really is incredible. Finish: medium, fresh, definitely more lemony than the other one. Comments: I could not decide between both, they’ve both got their own charms. I think I’m going to watch Auchroisk more closely in the future… SGP:561 - 86 points.

Perhaps an older one… Barely older…

Auchroisk 9 yo (46%, James Eadie, 1st fill bourbon, cask #804015, 296 bottles, 2017)

James Eadie is an old brand that’s been recently revived. It seems that they were also brewers in the early 1900s. Colour: pale gold. Nose: more oak influence after the refill hoggies, obviously, but bizarrely, this one’s a notch shier for a few seconds, but gets then really tropical, with pineapples, bananas, coconut milk, and of course vanilla. Yet I wouldn’t quite call it ‘some readymade pina colada’. Mouth: we’re getting closer. A bit of sour wood, then lemons and cider apples, then muesli and porridge, then indeed, barley. Finish: medium, fresh, on a fruit salad coated with custard and coconut oil. A little ginger and cinchona in the aftertaste (tonic water). Comments: embarrassingly good, I had thought some more active wood would have made it duller and more, say vulgar. Not the case at all, the differences are marginal, I say bravo. SGP:641 – 84 points.

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