
February 1, 2018

Auchentoshan’s turn, part two

As I said yesterday…

Auchentoshan 24 yo 1992/2016 (53.2%, Signatory Vintage, bourbon, cask #530, 226 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: a little spirity at first, then we have orchard fruits covered with custard and light honey. Green apples, green bananas, green pears… Not sure it’s unleashed its full potential yet. So, with water: yes! Papayas, mangos, coconut water… Mouth (neat): creamy and very fruity – tropically fruity. Guavas aplenty, bananas alike, angelica, lemongrass, mint, pineapple drops… It’s hard to make malt even fruitier, and in truth one cannot not think of Redbreast here. With water: really lovely. Redbreast, get thee out! Finish: medium, light in style, and yet very expressive. Excellent, on more tropical fruits blended with barley water and custard. Comments: I don’t think it’s the first time we’ve encountered some Auchentoshan that was extremely Irish in the best sense of that word.
SGP:641 - 87 points.

Just to be on the safe side…

Auchentoshan 1992/2017 (47.8%, Signatory Vintage for La Maison du Whisky, bourbon barrel, cask #5428, 159 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: ah this is very different. Some nail polish remover at first, cellulose, white balsamico (heresy?), Swiss cheese, bandages… And only then some tropical fruits, rather towards whacky guavas and dried jojobas, with a pine-y, almost smoky side. A very funny nose, really curious about the palate… Mouth: please explain ;-). This can’t be only Auchentoshan, something else must have happened. Another Serendipity moment at the filling station? Wrong stencilling? Late Friday work? There’s some clear Auchentoshanness – so no wrong labelling – but also some smoke, something coastal, minerals ala Springbank, even ideas of tequila… And the whole’s very good for sure. Finish: rather long and more or less on lightly smoked sultanas – should that exist. Comments: my eternal consideration to anyone who’d recognise Auchentoshan when tasting this blind. Indeed, eternal. Oh and it’s excellent.
SGP:552 - 88 points.

Perhaps a young one again?

Auchentoshan 10 yo 2001/2016 (54.6%, La Maison du Whisky, Artists #6, barrel, cask #800108)

They’ve bottled another cask under the same label (800107). That one was great (WF 87). Oh and before anyone asks on Facebook, indeed they do round down the age statements, so 14 = 10. Excuse me? Yes, that’s legal – and funny, isn’t it? Colour: deep gold. Nose: Sweet Vishnu, this has depth and body! You’re nosing sesame oil, tar liqueur, real artisan chocolate, real hazelnut butter, mead, pipe tobacco, olive oil… So much for a light Lowlander… With water: metal polish and old camphory ointments. Mouth (neat): exceptionally Jamaican and Ardbeggian. Really. Smoked rum, agave syrup, Cuban aguardiente, lapsang souchong, early 1970s Glen Garioch… That’s the thing with these light malts, they work like sponges in refill wood. This is refill, right? Closer to some blended malt for sure. With water: gets a tad metallic, and that’s lovely. Finish: long, smoky, herbal. Crème de menthe and smoked meats. Comments: I’d love to share a dram or three with the gentleman who rinsed the cask out prior to filling. Yes dry martinis is okay too, no worries.
SGP:552 - 88 points.

This Auchentoshan session is getting weird, isn’t it, so maybe a very last one?

Auchentoshan 18 yo 1997/2015 (52.3%, Blackadder, Raw Cask, hogshead, cask #29009, 247 bottles)

Ah yes, we’d said that we would quote Black Adder each and every time we’re tasting a whisky from this range. So, how about this one: “I couldn’t be more petrified if a wild Rhinoceros had just come home from a hard day at the swamp and found me wearing his pyjamas, smoking his cigars and in bed with his wife.” Shouldn’t we add “and quaffing his Auchentoshans?” Colour: gold. Nose: ah, normality! That is to say sunflower oil, custard, apple juice, white chocolate, gooseberries, barley, and a little orange juice. We’re falling in line. With water: small herbs and various berries, all in sync. Plus these excellent very small pineapples from the Caribbean. Mouth (neat): excellently citrusy, bright, perfectly balanced, and very tropical again. Maracujas, mangos, pink grapefruits. Do we need more? With water: totally perfect, even brilliant. An unexpected touch of salt. Finish: medium, tropical and indeed, a little salty. Barley water and all tropical fruits on could think of. Right, perhaps not durians. Comments: perfect and extremely close to the expected style. More points just because of that. One of the best Auchentoshans I’ve tried in recent years.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

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

January 2018

Favourite recent bottling:
Bowmore 15 yo 2001 (55.6%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange, hogshead, cask #20117, 233 bottles) - WF 92

Favourite older bottling:
Linkwood 22 yo 1972 (54.3%, OB, Rare Malts, +/-1995) - WF 91

Favourite bang for your buck bottling:
Ben Nevis 10 yo (46%, OB, +/-2017) - WF 89

Favourite malternative:
Grande Champagne 1835 (42.7%, Jean Grosperrin, Cognac, 2017) - WF 92