Tasting notes for an older Auchentoshan core range
While surfing on an auction website, I came across a little set of Auchentoshan mini bottlings of which I thought it would be nice to have. Sometimes it is refreshing and humbling to go back to a distillery’s core range. Of course, Auchentoshan is not a distillery that you see bottled by the more adventurous independent bottlers, even though there are examples. Most times however, you have to fall back on what the proprietor themselves release.
Auchentoshan is certainly not a traditional Scotch whisky distillery, for they pride themselves on “distilling every single drop three times”. That makes them indeed a black sheep among the traditionally double-distilling white sheep of Scotland. For a long time, Auchentoshan was just one of a handful Lowland distilleries, but I don’t see a statement about that on the current bottlings. The previous livery, which has already been replaced around 15 years ago, did state it was Lowland malt you were drinking. Nowadays, there are many new Lowland distilleries, even being a Glaswegian malt is not that unique anymore, with the arrival of The Clydeside and Glasgow Distillery.
Let’s see what magic we could find in these three miniature bottles I found.
Auchentoshan American Oak, bottled at 40 % abv
Makeup: An expression without age statement, coloured with caramel and solely matured in first fill North American bourbon casks. My miniature was probably bottled in 2014/2015.
General impressions: Extremely light on the nose, but the few smells I manage to sniff up are nice. Banana, vanilla, all the usual flavors on my ice cream cone are there. It does appear well-balanced and just straightforward fruity. The taste however is severely lacking in character. While I type these sentences I still have the whisky in my mouth, but nothing comes out. Cardboard, a hint of bitter wood, some light vanilla, but very watery. The 5 year old Pearse Lyons Irish Whiskey I tasted recently had more character than this. There is no finish to speak off.
Conclusion: Too simple to take seriously. It would even endanger your cola or coffee. We are in the cheap blended supermarket Scotch regions here, the words “single malt” unworthy.
Score: 69 points
Auchentoshan 12 years old, bottled at 40 % abv
Makeup: The age statement and the fact this was artificially coloured is about all the information we can find on this expression. Bottled somewhere around 2014-2015.
General impressions: Obviously more complex on the nose than the first sample. Ripe banana, more vanilla, porridge, and a hint of anise. A meadow of flowers. All very light, too light if you ask me, but it is clean and friendly. The taste is very dry, a lot more wood, which makes me wonder how young the American Oak actually was, but still there is not much going on here. The finish ends with a hint of soap. My oh my, Auchentoshan was not really interested in raising the bar very high, 10 or so years ago. Maybe the low abv kills the spirit (literally and figuratively).
Conclusion: It is not a disaster, but for a whisky that matured for 12 years, it is very mundane. Just nothing happening in the glass. Harmless sipping whisky. For contrast, Mrs. Whisky Odyssey is not a daily whisky drinker, and she thinks this was lovely and floral. .
Score: 74 points
Auchentoshan Three Wood, bottled at 43 % abv
Makeup: Matured in casks that previously held bourbon, oloroso and PX sherry. Strangely enough, the proprietor still thought it needed some extra colouring, so that it got too. No age statement, bottled around 2014/2015.
General impressions: An advanced warning, I might go easy on this one, because the Three Wood was a guilty pleasure of mine. It was a whisky I first drank in a Glaswegian bar and it left a mark on me in another way than just tasting the stuff. I bought a big bottle of this a few years ago and still liked it then. Sticking my nose in now, I am confirmed in that it’s very pleasant to smell. Lots of red fruits, traditional raisins and maybe a hint of perfumed mint. Taking a sip, the experience is less sticky than I remember it, but nicely rounded with coffee, chocolate and wood notes. It seems to me the oloroso influence is doing the heavy lifting here, and that is a good thing. It is not so overly sweet as PX-infused whisky can be nowadays.
Conclusion: Has more to offer than the others, and as a sherried expression it is a nice jump-off reference whisky for when you want to start exploring this type of maturation. Simple but good.
Score: 80 points
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