Another permanent change in lineup, this time from Auchentoshan. Gone is the bland-ish Auchentoshan Classic, and in its place another NAS triple-distilled release, this time matured exclusively in first-fill ex-bourbon American Oak. At a retail place of around $35, this is definitely a worthwhile upgrade. According to the press release, Auchentoshan selects casks from both the top and bottom of their warehouse and marries them together to create American Oak. Thanks again to Manuela at Savona Communications for the sample.
Nose: Vanilla and raw barley. Notes are very similar to Irish blended whisky. Light brown sugar and freshly-cut hardwood. A slight overripe banana note underlies the rest, and becomes more prominent as the dram rests. Clean, crisp, and light, like the Auchentoshan Classic, but with more apparent oak character and a little extra malty sweetness – a nice upgrade.
Palate: Light bodied, but with a slight “simple syrup” texture. Melted vanilla ice cream, some oaky tannins, and mild toasted barley.
Finish: Short. Very slightly bitter, but with pleasant notes of kettle corn as it fades.
With Water: A few drops of water accentuate (unfortunately) the banana notes, adding green banana to the mix. Stay away from water with this one – it certainly doesn’t need it at 40% ABV.
Overall: As a value malt, this has a few ticks in its favor over the Classic, which it is replacing in the permanent Auchentoshan portfolio. The Classic suffered from anemia and definitely is bolstered by the added oak character, which is well executed, and doesn’t come across as an afterthought or cover-up. My one issue, which might be a personal taste thing, is that I cannot abide the “rotten banana” note that so often creeps into scotch aged in first-fill ex-bourbon wood. I have it on good authority, however, that many people find this particular banana note to be pleasant. If you’re one of those people, then $35 is not an unfair price for this light, straightforward NAS malt.
About The Distillery
Auchentoshan (a toughie to pronounce: Aw-ken/tosh-an) is one of the few remaining Lowlander distilleries in Scotland. It’s also notable for its use of “triple distillation” to make its spirit. This means rather than using two stills to distill the beer-like wash twice, like most Scottish distilleries, Auchentoshan processes the new-make spirit in three stills (three times). This creates a higher-proof final distillate (around 82% ABV) which is lighter and sweeter in flavor than most Scotch. I wonder if they ever release a cask-strength bottling! Wowza! [update: They do, but as the whisky is diluted to typical ‘cask-strength’ of around 63% ABV, it’s not much stronger than other whiskies. What I really want to try is the new-make spirit. 🙂] Note that many Irish distillers also triple-distill their whiskey.
I realize this is an older review, but to anyone reading this: AVOID this whisky. I’m a fan of ex-bourbon maturation, but American Oak went horribly wrong somewhere. This is THE worst single malt I’ve ever tasted. Imagine mouldy cardboard and wet shag carpet. That’s all that came to mind when I drank this. Thankfully it was my friend’s bottle….but this is probably the only whisky I’ve ever poured down the drain. It was that bad.
How can you tell “this is an older review?” Regardless, I had this spirit at the local pub last week, but I couldn’t dump it down the drain 🙂
The date of the review is right under the title…
Agree 100% This is my least favorite single malt to date. I didn’t drain pour it, I brought it to a party and made highballs with it.
Your friend must have swapped out this whisky on you because I would never pour this down a drain. For the price it’s a hard to beat single malt.
It is what it is, light unpretentious and fairly undemanding but like typical Lowland it is easy drinking, light and with sprJoing flowers and vanilla on the nose. Not a classic but well drinkable.