I know I’d said I’d have a review today of barbecue from Ted Cook’s 19th Hole in Minneapolis but what can I say? I spent last evening watching Basu Chatterjee’s 1974 gem Rajnigandha and a few episodes of Schitt’s Creek and didn’t get around to it. If your primary interest is food, go back and read yesterday’s post on American food media’s relationship with diversity. Or if you want to read about barbecue in the Twin Cities, go back and read my review of Big Daddy’s from a few years ago (but keep in mind that they’ve changed ownership since then). Today I have another whisky review. This is an Auchentoshan, shockingly only the second official Auchentoshan I’ve ever reviewed (the first was the cask strength Valinch). Well, maybe it’s not so shocking: there aren’t that many official Auchentoshans around. I believe this one was released only for the Travel Retail market—I’m not sure if it’s still on the go there. It’s a NAS vatting of spirit matured in ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso casks. Let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading
Category Archives: Auchentoshan
Auchentoshan 15, 1997 (Old Malt Cask)
I often say that every distillery is capable of producing high quality malt. But I have to admit that Auchentoshan is one of the distilleries that really tests my faith in this proposition. In my years of drinking single malt whisky I have not yet come across an official Auchentoshan that I have wanted to purchase or even drink again; and, more damningly, I have not also come across any indie releases that have convinced me that owners Morrison Bowmore have been blending quality casks away, whether in the official vattings or in the group’s blends. I’m not denying the possibility that they exist; merely noting that I have not yet randomly encountered one. Of the few I have reviewed, I liked this 23 yo from Archives the best and I gave that 86 points. But hope springs eternal and perhaps this will be the one that rewards my faith. Like some of the other whiskies I’ve been reviewing recently it too was a release from a long time ago—I’ve been sitting on this sample too for a while. Well, let’s get to it now. Continue reading
Auchentoshan 1983-2004 (Scott’s Selection)
This Auchentoshan is one of several Scott’s Selection releases from the mid-2000s. While the Longmorns and Glen Grants and the Port Ellens released around the same time have long disappeared—and are now commanding massive premiums on the secondary market—and the Linlithgows, Glen Mhors and Highland Parks have also now mostly been purchased, this and some others continue to languish on shelves around the country. Even as I type, at least three whisky geeks in different parts of the country are looking at bottles of Scott’s Selection Auchentoshan, Bunnahabhain. Glenlivet, Benromach, Craigellachie and Mannochmore in specialist stores and are wondering whether to give in to the temptation to buy them. In a couple of minutes they will decide against the purchase because there’s no information out there on the quality of these bottles. That was me for many years. But then Binny’s recently put a number of these stragglers on major sale and four of us split a bottle each of this Auchentoshan, a Bunnahabhain 1988-2004 and a Glenlivet 1977-2004—Michael K. and Jordan D. will probably review their portions at some point soon (the deplorable, blog-less Florin was the fourth). As I’ve reviewed very few Auchentoshans of any kind I decided to start with this one—I’ll review the other two later this month (or maybe next) as well. Continue reading
Auchentoshan 23, 1990 (Archives)
I think I can say safely that this is the oldest Auchentoshan I’ve ever had. I’ve not had too many Auchentoshans of any age, actually—I’ve not been a big fan of most of what I’ve had and have therefore not sought out much more. On the one hand, the general profile seems to fall in an acidic bourbon cask spectrum made all over the Speyside; on the other, there’s been something a bit weird about most of the few I’ve had that I can’t quite describe (though I did like this 14 yo from Cadenhead’s). Anyway, I’ll be interested to see what longer aging has done to this cask, which was bottled jointly by Whisky Fässle and Whiskybase (for their Archives label). It seems to have divided opinion on Whiskybase quite widely—there are a lot of ratings for it and they go evenly from the high 70s to the low 90s. Consequently, perhaps, this is still available.
Continue reading
Auchentoshan 14, 1999 (Cadenhead’s)
The second in a series of eight reviews of recent Cadenhead’s Small Batch releases. I have to say I’m not the greatest fan of Auchentoshan–not that I’ve had that many–and I’m hoping this 14 yo will be to my liking and at least better than the Valinch (2011) that I reviewed some months ago.
Auchentoshan 14, 1999 (55.1%; Cadenhead’s Small Batch; bourbon barrel; from a bottle split with friends)
Nose: Malt, citrus and candied ginger. Some sharp wood below that. Smells younger than it is but smells good. With more time the wood is pine/eucalyptus. Very fresh even as it gets sweeter. And I may be dreaming but I think I’m getting clear notes of juniper now too. Water brings out some vanilla. Continue reading
Auchentoshan Valinch, 2011
Auchentoshan is one of the few remaining distilleries in the Lowlands, producing triple-distilled whisky as was once traditional there. (It is not clear if the other two operational Lowland distilleries whose malts are on the market, Glenkinchie and Bladnoch, have any triple-distilled whisky out there.) I have very little experience of Auchentoshan–I’ve tried the Classic (which does not sport an age statement) and the 12 on separate occasions a good while ago and neither impressed me overmuch. The Valinch is, I believe, the cask strength version of the Classic and, in the US at least, has seen two releases: in 2011 and 2012. The sample I am reviewing tonight is from the 2011 release.
My Annoying Opinions 