Auchroisk 20 Year Old / 58.1% / £110
Tasted neat, then with a bit of bottled water
This is the limited edition original bottling of 20 year old Auchroisk, matured in American/European oak casks. From 2010, this is bottle 3505/5856. The bottle doesn’t give up much information about the provenance of this whiskey.
- Color: burnished (1.1)
- Nose: creme brulee, black olives, and sawdust; malt, mead, and banana bread
- Taste: apple pie, christmas spices; cake glazing, slight tropical fruits
- Finish: long, warming orange and green apple peels; vanilla
This distillery is mainly a workhorse for Diageo’s J&B, so the release was an unusual one. It’s perfectly pleasant, albeit worksmanlike, done in probably refill-bourbon barrels, with maybe the odd 4th fill ex-sherry in there.
To be honest, it’s a bit tired and closed; I don’t think this really highlights what Auchroisk can do.
Diageo carefully selected some casks for this limited edition, and they produce a passable spirit, but there’s no excitement. This is a staid “whisky” whisky, punching out just enough complexity to enjoy a part in the 2010 Diageo Special Releases, but not anything interesting enough to make me want to buy it again.
Rating: 77/100
