Murray McDavid Auchentoshan Tasting Notes

Murray McDavid Mission Series V Auchentoshan 1981 (24 year old) 46%

Bourbon – Grenache/ Dist: 1981 Btl: 2005/ Tasted: Nov 2005

Ripe and clean with rich apricot fruits mingling with dusky spices, golden syrup, honey, cereal and sweet vanilla fudge. After awhile plum and wine soaked raisins drift in, but on the edge is this slight vegetal note which detracts a bit.

Dry, soft, smooth and extremely succulent. The palate abounds with rich, spicy red fruits and apricot followed by a floral, flower petal intensity (almost like licking rose petals!). Very long and incredibly spicy with luxurious light syrup coated fruits, and a long classy finish. Great quality spirit, just taste it and judge for yourself and make your own mind up.

James MacArthur Auchentoshan Tasting Notes

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Auchentoshan 1998 (12 year old) 62.9%

Bourbon Cask 102338/ Dist: 1998 Btl: 2010/ Tasted: Aug 2011

The nose is quite dense and woody, heavy on the coffee and wood spices, although not unpleasant.  In fact it is quite complex with hints of pepper and boiled sweets along with some perfumed rose petal notes. I have to say that I’m impressed with the cleanliness of the aromas, as young-ish ‘toshan can be quite dirty.  With time the peppery notes really come to the fore.

I’d have to describe the palate as sub-industrial, although that is not a criticism. Often ‘toshan can be quite hard going but these sub-industrial notes are countered by the sweet rose petal notes and mingles well with the boiled sweet, pepper and wood spices. The alcohol although pretty high is impeccably behaved, although it does strip the sweetness away and I have to say it is very well integrated. Very good length with some unsweetened Turkish delight notes and a touch of perfume.

A drop of water emphasises the peppery notes on the nose and makes the palate softer and less confected and slightly oilier with some barley sweetness emerging now the alcohol has been tamed. Actually this is rather enjoyable and beats the distillery bottling hands down!

Duncan Taylor Auchentoshan Tasting Notes

Duncan Taylor Whisky Galore Auchentoshan 9 year old 46%

Bourbon/ Tasted: Sept 2008

Crisp, clean and full of citrus, grass and a teasing hint of sweetness to the fruit. There’s a hint of rose petal marc along with vanilla and earth. The palate has like the nose a slight sweetness. It’s a touch watery and thin but there’s good late grass and vanilla notes. An agreeable young Lowland, simple and bit thin on the palate but pleasant enough.

Duncan Taylor Whisky Galore Auchentoshan 9 year old 46%

Bourbon/ Tasted: May 2009

A sweet, floral, candied marc-like nose with rose petals, a touch of citrus and burnt toffee. Over time it becomes quiet sickly with a clotted cream sweetness. The palate follows the nose in being quiet sweet and candied with the marc-like rose petals upfront. The alcohol and spices bite agreeably on the middle, but it is too Turkish delight sweet and vanillery and like the nose it develops a sickly, clotted cream character.

I really have issues with young Bourbon casked Auchentoshan and I have still yet to encounter a bottling that I would class as agreeable, let alone superb.

Duncan Taylor Whisky Galore Auchentoshan 9 year old 46%

Bourbon Cask/ Tasted: July 2009

Very young, with prominent marc-like rose petal aromas. Quiet a candied sweetness, which increases with time and prickly alcohol. The palate is candied, sweet, straw-like fruit. Quiet simple with hints of marc. The alcohol is noticeable but not intrusive. A good length with hints of soft spice and the marc-like rose lingering. Quiet an oily after taste

Duncan Taylor Battlehill Auchentoshan 6 year old 43%

Tasted: Nov 2008

A light, fruity, grassy nose of youthful cereal, honey, earth and a slight floral note. It however develops a soapy note with time. The palate is pretty much like the nose with a pleasant touch of barley and a spicy finish. However the after taste is marred by the soapiness and a distinctly confected touch.

Douglas Laing Auchentoshan Tasting Notes

Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Auchentoshan 1997 (13 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC1985/ DL6865

Dist: Dec 1997 Btl: Jan 2011/ Tasted: Sept 2011

The nose comes as a complete shock. It’s very sweet, honeyed and almost tropical. Most unusual!! This is followed by hints of cider apples and malt vinegar, which is not entirely unpleasant. Although the aromas are quite sweet there is a balancing citrus freshness and a slight earthiness to it.

The palate is soft and rounded, slightly honeyed with some gently oiled, slightly floral yellow fruits. Again this is most unusual for ‘Toshan, but the spell is kind of broken as it shows it’s industrial side toward the end – I mean it’s still ‘Toshan after all! Good length with hints of rose petals in the finish. On the balance of things it’s not bad – really!

Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Achentoshan 1997 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2167/ DL8257

Dist: Sept 1997 Btl: Mar 2012/ Tasted: June 2012

A lovely, crisp, citrusy nose of white fruit and creamy oak intermingles with hints of light spice, sweet barley and earth. Really rather pleasant.

The palate opens with the sweet barley and some fleshy fruit. In fact it is quite broad for a ‘toshan. Very citrusy on the middle with hints of apricot, white pear and light banana along with some chewy oak, which adds to the weight. Excellent length with a softly spiced finish and the citrus holding out to the end.

---

Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (16 year old) 48.4%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0078/ DL10201

Dist: Nov 97 Btl: Jan 14/ Tasted: Feb 14

A very subtle nose, even by ‘toshan standards. Hints of barley and high toned white fruit. A little ephemeral with the oak coming through with coffee and fudge notes

Hints of old rose petals, straw, barley and slightly fudgy/ creamy/ buttery oak. Reasonable length with a sweet spice finish.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (16 year old) 48.4%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0123/ DL10453

Dist: Nov 1997 Btl: Aug 2014/ Tasted: Sept 2014

The nose is a little high toned and quite grainy with hints of oily dried fruit, malt and fragrant barley. With time hints of coffee and floral notes appear.

The palate is very soft and subtle with light barley, oily dried fruit and hints of coffee and malt. Some sharp citrus and sweetish barley come through on the middle and finish.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 2000 (16 year old) 48.4%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0409/ DL11591

Dist: Sept 2000 Btl: Mar 2017/ Tasted: Jun 2017

Full and rich on the nose with rose water, butter-cream and sweet strawberry notes. Good depth with the alcohol balancing the sweetness.

The palate is sweet and creamy with strawberry, Turkish delight and sweet spice. Freshens on the finish as the alcohol comes through but the creamy strawberry mousse notes return along with a subtle black pepper note.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (17 year old) 48.4%

Bourbon/ Code: OLD0175/ Dist: Nov 1997 Btl: Jan 2015/ Tasted: Feb 2015

Very sweet aromas of rose Turkish delight bath crystals. Seriously floral with butter cream, strawberry gateaux and a touch of citrus.

The palate is equally as sweet with again with a distinct strawberry gateaux and cream character. Hints of barley sugar and light toffee follow. Long and sweet with a slight, syrupy spice finish.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (18 year old) 48.4%

Virgin Oak Hogshead/ Code: OLD0325/ DL11203

Dist: Dec 1997 Btl: Jun 2016/ Tasted: Oct 2016

A dense and full nose. The virgin oak is making it feel quite chunky, but like the virgin oak edition bottled buy the distillery itself, the spirit stands up to the oak pretty well. Hints of brown sugar, rose petals and pepper come through along with a late Turkish delight note.

The palate is full and rich. Again quite chunky, but elegant with rose oil, barley and hints of black pepper and leather. Again the oak is well balanced and the finish is long and subtly spiced with lingering rose Turkish delight and citrus.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1998 (18 year old) 47.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0444/ Dist: Nov 1998 Btl: Jun 2017/ Tasted: Sept 2017

Crisp and initially quite grassy and citric aromas, before the sweet strawberry mousse notes arrive. With time it does become a mousse overload but there are enough citrus and straw-like notes to balance – just!

The palate is full and sweet with strawberry mousse notes dominating. The citrus does a good job of keeping it in check and allowing hints of barley and mature oak to come through. Long, straw and citrus finish.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (20 year old) 51.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0484/ DL12032

Dist: May 1997 Btl: Aug 2017/ Tasted: Jan 2018

Aromas of mature, fragrant barley with honey, straw, macerated apricot, tangerine and hints of rose water. Very full for a ‘toshan with late hints of strawberry and raspberry.

The palate is full of fragrant barley, straw and honey. Again very full bodied with hints of minerals, citrus, strawberry, raspberry and more straw. Lovely citric and mineral intensity but there’s a slightly burnt caramel note on the finish.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1996 (21 year old) 51.5%

Bourbon/ Code: DL12591/ Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: May 2018/ Tasted: Jul 2018

Aromas of mature rose petal, crystalised strawberry and hints of Bourbony oak., wheat flakes, barley, pepper, old marc, sweet oak and peppermint.

The palate opens with creamy oak and mature barley. Hints of strawberry, pepper, lime, apricot and old marc follow. Lovely intensity and length with a very peppery finish and lingering notes of barley and oak.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (21 year old) 51.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0671/ DL12805

Dist: May 1997 Btl: Sept 2018/ Tasted: Dec 2018

A mature and barley’d nose with subtle rose petal, lemon, white pepper and herbal/ vanilla oak. The oak shows some pleasant sawdusty maturity. Overall it’s a beautifully balanced and subtle nose with late gooseberry and kiwi skin notes.

The palate is subtle and mature with sweet barley and hints of marmalade and grippy oak. Hints of rose petals and white pepper follow. Long and spicy with a real kick to it. It’s a little hot on the finish but it has a pleasant intensity.

 Douglas Laing Old Particular Auchentoshan 1997 (21 year old) 51.5%

Virgin oak/ Code: OLD0727/ DL13064

Dist: Nov 1997 Btl: Feb 2019/ Tasted: Nov 2019

The nose is full and oaky with oxidised fruit, old rose petal, sweet and fragrant malt and late hints of column still-like dried fruit.

The palate is lightly oiled and barley’d with a lovely mature rose petal, sweet red fruit, malt, spice and grainy dried fruit. Weighty and long with lingering sweet spice, ginger biscuits, tannin, red fruit and malt. In conclusion: I’ve tasted ‘toshan from Virgin oak in the past and you would have thought that the oak would be too much for such a delicate spirit, but it works so well.

---

Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Auchentoshan 1998 (11 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: PBR0099/ Dist: Dec 1998 Btl: July 2011/ Tasted: July 2011

The nose is hugely peppery. In fact it has more than a passing resemblance to Tequila. Actually its white pleasant for a young ‘Toshan with a touch of white flowers and some background oak.

The palate is syrupy sweet and like the nose very peppery and Tequila-esque. There are hints of straw and winey notes galore. Very interesting and not too bad for a young ‘Toshan.

Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Auchentoshan 2000 (11 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: PBR0109/ Dist Mar 2000 Btl: Nov 2011/ Tasted: Nov 2011

Oh yes, it’s young ‘toshan! Quite spicy on the nose with hints of decomposing flora and fauna. With time it becomes rather confected with hints of manure and marc-like notes.

The palate opens with some bitter, peppery spices, followed by sweet malt and vanilla ice cream. Actually it’s quite clean and soft with some fresh rose petal notes on the middle. Good length with the peppery notes returning. All the while that sweet vanilla ice cream notes blanket the palate. Pleasant palate, shame about the nose!

---

Douglas Laing Provenance Auchentoshan 2002 (14 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV1234/ DL11490

Dist: Oct 2002 Btl: Nov 2016/ Tasted: Jan 2017

Very sweet and rose petally aromas with Turkish delight, rose oil and strawberry mousse. Really sweet and just this side of sickly.

The palate is as sweet as the nose suggests with strawberry mousse and rose Turkish delight. Straightforward with a slightly mineral finish.

Douglas Laing Provenance Auchentoshan 2002 (14 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV1319/ Dist: Oct 2002 Btl: Jun 2017/ Tasted: July 2017

The nose is quite deep and malty with hints of cereal. The expected sweet rose petal and castor sugar coated Turkish delight notes appear along with a late strawberry leaf note.

The palate is slightly oily but pretty sweet with sweet strawberry and Tukish delight. The alcohol and citrus notes add balance and the middle displays a lovely summer fruit cup and barley character. Long, barley’d and slightly creamy finish with some subtle bittering from the oak.

Dewar Rattray Auchentoshan Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Auchentoshan 1991 (15 year old) 59%

Bourbon Cask 478/ Dist Feb 1991 Btl: May 2006/ Tasted: June 2006

A clean but high toned nose of custard creams and earth with a slight menthol note and a touch of spice. The palate is pleasantly fruity with the vanilla and earth notes joined by a rampaging chorus of sweet spices. Lean and quite succulent with the custard cream note on the finish.

Water however brings out an unwanted vegetal/ botanical note on the nose and whilst it softens the palate, making it sweeter and creamier all those lovely spices have up and left the building! Dissapointing.

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Auchentoshan 1991 (16 year old) 58.5%

Sherry Cask 477/ Dist: Feb 1991 Btl: Sept 2007/ Tasted: Oct 2007

The nose was estery and had that aroma of decaying rose petals and on the palate it was down right insipid and nasty and I thought to myself how pretty much every private Bourbon casked Auchentoshan I have tasted has been pretty insipid, with only the distillery bottling being worthy of mention, and that is probably only because they whack it into Sherry casks in order to give it some character. So imagine my surprise when I looked at the label and saw this was a Sherry matured Auctentoshan! – How? You what?! If there was even the remotest hint that a Sherry cask had been within a thousand yards of this, well I’m a Dutchman!

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Auchentoshan 1990 (20 year old) 55.9%

Bourbon Cask 17287/ Dist: 1990 Btl: 2011/ Tasted: Aug 2011

The nose is quite aromatic and grassy with plenty of up front citrus aromas. Beneath sits some lovely, maturing honey. With time it becomes very peppery with some heavy oils now noticeable along with hints of rose petals and butter. A lovely complex old Lowland.

The palate is very oily – rose oil in fact with plenty of lightly mentholated flowers. The piquant alcohol does mask the palate a tad but there are some delightful Turkish delight (oily of course) moments in the finish.

A drop of water emphasises the oils on the nose, adding weight and density. Also a light tangerine note appears. On the palate it has the opposite effect. It’s less oily now and displaying a greater degree of maturity – dried citrus fruit sprinkled with castor sugar and some old wood. It has a lovely delicacy and length with a touch of liquorice, malt and coffee in the finish.

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Auchentoshan 1990 (22 year old) 55.1%

Bourbon Cask 17288

Dist: 1990 Btl: Apr 2013

Tasted: Apr 2013

The nose is fairly oaky with a pleasant degree of toasted caramel vanillins along with some crisp, mature, lightly earthy, neutral-ish spirit notes, which hover with a grain like intensity. Some peppery spices come through with a smidge of sugar too. With time it becomes evocatively floral. Lovely nose!

The palate is soft and again fairly oaky with some lovely nutty notes mingling with mature straw, earth and light decaying rose petals. Exceptionally clean and silky with the alcohol adding piquancy along with buckets of peppery rose petal notes on the finish. Light but lingering and so, so peppery! A lovely mature ‘toshan!

A drop of water makes the nose feel older. There is less of the oak influence and more of the straw and lemon. The palate is much the same. Dilution removes some of the peppery intensity, so I would opt to drink this neat.

 

Cadenheads Auchentoshan Tasting Notes

Cadenheads ‘Duthies’ Auchentoshan 19 year old 46%

Bourbon Cask/ Dist: 1990 Btl: 2009/ Tasted: July 2009

An intense and leafy nose with crisp barley and grains running riot. This is definitely a single grain. Loads of toffee’d oak arrive with a veritable bucket full of late buzzing spices.  The palate is oily and dense. Exceedingly grainy with loads of toffee oak. Moderate length with a lovely late peppery/ spicy finish. In conclusion – Must be a grain. Very intense and oak. PortDundas? I love it but should it really be in the Lowland category? (Again tasted blind!)

Berry Brothers Auchtentoshan Tasting Notes

Berry Brothers Auchtentoshan 1991 (16 year old) 46%

Bourbon Cask 480/ Dist: 1991 Btl: 2007/ Tasted: Nov 2008

Clean, crisp, buttery aromas of liquid caramel, set against a background of rose oil, cereal and rose petals. Thearomasare a little bit on the sweet and sickly side. On the palate the oak holds sway to begin with followed by a touch of grass and crisp white fruit. There’s some spice and a touch of cereal and dried husks on the finish. Quiet pleasant for a Bourbon cask from this distillery.

Alchemist Auchtentoshan Tasting Notes

Alchemist Auchtentoshan 16 year old 46%

Tasted: July 2007

A very oily nose, which seems to me about half it’s age. Light, honied orange fruit, cereal and malt. Like the Laddie there is no real cask influence here, it’s all pure distillery character. There is a slightly floral top note along with some perfume and sawdust.

On the palate it is quiet oily and again seems a lot younger than 16 years old, with a distinct cerealy character. It reminds me a bit of Tequilla. It has a pleasant length with a touch of coal smoke and quiet a dry finish.

Auchtentoshan Distillery Tasting Notes

Auchentoshan New Make 63.5%

Tasted: Oct 2009

An extremely clean nose. It has unsurprisingly that ‘off the still’ cereal character as well as a strong rose petal marc note. However it has quiet a perfumed character with hints of granite, citrus and developing botanicals. The palate is oily and delicate, obviously very similar to the nose. The rose petal marc is particularly strong on the middle and maybe there is a suggestion of yellow fruit and spice. Good length.

With water a resiny almost pine like note appears on the nose, as does a gun smoke/ flint/ sulphur-ish note. The palate has become quiet sweeter with the cereal taking on a more ‘mashy’ texture and it is now showing a greater degree of fruity esters, especially citrus. Strange but after being in the glass for 30-45 minutes, it had almost degraded. The rose petal aromas/ flavours had developed a definite decaying character and it had become quiet manurey.

Auchentoshan Classic 40%

Tasted: Jan 2016

A classic, young ‘toshan nose of rose petals and Turkish delight with hints of straw and creamy oak. Pleasantly fresh.

Soft, light and young on the palate with hints of barley, Turkish delight and straw. Good length with lingering oak and a touch of dry, gristy barley.

 Auchentoshan American Oak 40%

First Fill American Oak/ Tasted: Sept 2015

Classic, high toned ‘Toshan aromas of violets, rose petals and boiled sweets. A little marc-like which shows its relative youth along with sweet barley and hints of vanilla and toasted oak.

The palate shows a little more honey and barley. The American oak adds a lovely toasty thickness. Again hints of boiled sweets, rose petals and gentle, sweet spice come through on the middle. Long and vanilla’d with the tannins slightly bittering but balanced by the sweetness of the spirit. Now that’s how I like my ‘Toshan!

 Auchentoshan Virgin Oak 46%

Tasted: Sept 2013

An intensely deep and spicy nose with plenty of toasty oak, but it seems to have brought the spiciness of the spirit out rather than blanketing it. In fact the spirit stands up really well to the oak and some trademark rose petal and Turkish delight notes appear along with hints of strawberry, barley, chocolate and caramel. Very appealing.

The intense but gently toasted oak leads off with chocolate and caramel notes but like the nose the Turkish delight and sweet strawberry, apricot and berry fruits are not far behind. Lovely, gentle spiciness with a touch of rose petals. A huge, soft and sweetly spiced middle. Yes the oak is big, but the spirit really balances it amazingly well, Very long the chocolate and caramel notes returning.

 Auchentoshan Valinch 2011 57.5%

Tasted: Feb 2012

A soft, floral nose of white fruit along with a hint of grass and softly sugared marc-like notes. Develops aromas of almond and cinnamon. Lovely depth. With water it becomes less complex and more subtle.

The palate opens with soft barley and crisp honey with a touch of sugared almond and marc notes. Intensely alcoholic which leads into rose water and Turkish delight. With water it becomes softer and oiler, showing a tad more maturity now and some dried grass notes. Long, with some late spice and lingering rose water notes. Conclusion: A lovely, charming Lowland. Probably a vatting as with water it definitely shows some maturity.

Auchentoshan Valinch 2012 57.2%

Tasted: Jan 2013

The nose displays quite a mature spirit character. Lightly oiled with a developing boiled sweet note and absolutely loads of pepper. Some youthful citrus nips at the edges adding a touch of lime juice. With water it becomes very immature and a bit muted.

The palate is soft but quite drying with some fleshy apricot and straw. Like the nose there is some mature spirit at work here and that peppery bite is distinctly Tequila-esque! Water bring out some unsweetened pineapple, banana and apricot. Oiler now with a good barley richness. The finish is quite peppery (surprise!) and dry but long. Diluted it becomes oilier and finishes with some soft rose petal marc notes. Conclusion: Very natural and very peppery!

Auchentoshan 1 year old 63%

Bourbon/ Tasted: Oct 2009

Fresh bourbon I would imagine as the oak (aromas arrive and pass like a speeding bullet. Then the marc rose petal character comes through, which like the new make is quiet concentrated. There is a hint the citrus and parma violets. The palate is quiet oily, with less oak character. Very intense and alcoholic with the rose petal flavours being joined by some lovely pure white pepper, whilst the citrus has taken on a greater zestiness. The oak really dries out the finish.

Water really emphasises the rose petal marc, whilst the oak aromas completely disappear. Odd, I would have expected water to do exactly the opposite. On the palate it doesn’t make any significant changes.

Auchentoshan 2 year old 62.3%

Oloroso/ Tasted: Oct 2009

Incredibly smoky. One can really smell the charring of the wood. Again I would say it’s a fresh, dry Oloroso as it’s very grapey with hints of treacle, toffee, dried fruit and moist fruit cake along with a candied sweetness to the aromas. Spotlessly clean, this shows an that they have an excellent cask selection programme. However the ‘distillery character’ is unsurprisingly nowhere to be seen. The palate is surprisingly soft, although there is an abundance of wood tannins and alcohol, with the flavours mirroring the nose. Unctuous and clean with the marc like notes just pushing away through on the finish.

A drop of water makes the gun smoke/ flint/ sulphur-ish note that was evident in the new make put in an appearance and maybe there is an ever so fleeting cardboard note, then its whoosh – sherry! On the palate there is not much change except that it increases the candied sweetness.

Auchentoshan 10 year old 40%

Tasted: Mar 2004

Fresh aromas of citrus lighten a heavily sherried nose. Hints of honey amongst the dried fruit. The palate is soft and sweet with the oak showing first followed by some citrus and flower petal notes. A pleasant wood finish.

Auchentoshan 1999 (11 years old) 58%

Bordeaux Cask Matured/ Tasted: Feb 2012

A clean, leafy, herbal Oloroso-esque nose displaying plenty of dried fruit, which moves in a boiled sweet direction. A touch of mature honey and late hints of vanilla/ marzipan with some delightful peppery spice at the edges. Water brings out a slight damp earth note.

The palate is oily and quite tannic with what appears to be sherried spice (tasted blind) and ground coffee. The piquant alcohol makes the mouth water. All cask, but pleasantly clean. Water emphasises the oils. Good length with a boiled sweet/ confected finish. Conclusion: Pleasant, clean, just lacking some distillery character.

Auchentoshan 1999 (11 years old) 58%

Bordeaux Cask Matured

Re-Tasted: Mar 2012

An edgy nose of dried, spicy fruit with a slight perfumed or possibly sulphured note. A bit odd, confected, boiled sweets and some old-ish wood spice. Water makes it a bit weak and oily

The palate is rather alcoholic, dry and austere. Tannic and sherried, verging on the sulphured, oh and there’s a touch of dried fruit. Water makes it a tad dull. An intense and alcoholic finish with some peppery marc notes in the finish.

Auchentoshan 12 year old 40%

Tasted: Apr 2009

Quiet a deep, oily nose of nutty sherry wood. It develops a touch of marc-like straw (obvious distillery character). The sherry is spotless and has a pleasant degree of fruit, cereal, earth and dunnage floor notes.

The palate is soft and quiet juicy, opening with the sherry wood. Again there’s a hint of marc-spirit, which follows through to the finish. It’s a bit short and kind of one dimensional. A pleasant nose if you like a sherried dram but nothing to get excited about on the palate.

Auchentoshan 12 year old 40%

Re-Tasted: Oct 2014

Quite high toned aromas of that distinctive boiled sweets sherry character. Hints of prune, raisin and a touch of smoke. Very clean and very sherried with a light citrus note as well as a touch of lightly toasted caramel.

The palate is soft and sherried. I feel there is some dampening caramel at work here and to be honest it’s a bit bland. Lightly nutty with the high toned, triple distilled notes coming through on the finish. The finish is also a tad on the bitter side, which I would guess was probably down to the added caramel.

 Auchentoshan 18 year old 43%

Tasted: Oct 2009

The nose is very similar to the 12 year old, but they have obviously used a lager quantity of sherry casks in this vatting as there is greater degree of coffee-toffee wood notes evident. It has probably more depth and guts than the 12, displaying a candied barley sugar insinuation although over time a sort of smoky/ plastic aroma appears.

The palate is very disappointing having been flattened by the addition of caramel (check the farven justeret med caramel note on the back label – Danish for colour adjusted with caramel). It is slightly oily and prickly, gutless, quiet watery with a sugary-candied sweetness along with that gun smoke/ flint/ sulphur-ish note. Why the caramel? It has destroyed a perfectly ok whisky.

Auchentoshan 1978 (18 year old) 58.8%

Bottled in 1997, non chill filtered

A vatting of 13 casks – 2952-57 and 4365-71/ Tasted: Oct 2009

A clean, leafy Oloroso nose. Lightly oily with hints of almond/ marzipan along with a slight candied note and alcohol. Essentially it is just wood and alcohol – Very good wood though! The palate is dry with dusty tannins and sherry wood. The alcohol adds to that drying sensation and almost burns. The wood and alcohol totally overwhelms and it isn’t until they dissipate that the candied orange peel, sweet almond and some ‘distillery character’ gets a chance to show.

Water brings out that candied orange peel aroma along with some dusty spices. The complexity of this dram become more apparent now that the alcohol has been tamed and it is now rather pleasant with hints of violets and gingerbread. Likewise the palate has softened, allowing the light orange fruit and gingerbread notes to show. The distillery-marc like character appears on the middle and it languidly drifts into a long spicy finish. Still possibly a tad too sweet for my liking but water gives it a better balance and keeps the sweetness under control.

Auchentoshan 1975 (38 year old) 45.6%

Bourbon/ Dist: May 1975 Btl: 2013/ Tasted: Mar 2014

A superbly mature nose of sawdusty oak, thick barley, gentle honey, moist vanilla laced apricot and pineapple. Beautifully floral with hints of honeysuckle and jasmine. With time the oak becomes quite buttery and a distinct peppery note appears.

The palate is beautifully moist and sensuous, opening with honey coated apricot and gorgeously mature, sawdusty oak. Expansive and mouth-filling with a balancing citrus note. Lightly oiled, gently perfumed and absolutely divine! To be honest the finish is a little short with the alcohol and citrus drying the finish, but not overly detracting from what is a superb whisky. In conclusion: Wow, ‘toshan can age amazingly well.