I honestly don't know what is going on with casks of Auchroisk over at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), because every single expression I've seen over the last two years has been finished in some kind of wine cask, often a reconditioned one. I am so damned curious as this point what non-finished Auchroisk tastes like!
Nonetheless, I find this strange system of wine finishing to be full of flavor, and this bottle is twice as old as most of the ~7 year releases that come out of the SMWS for Auchroisk (and I am a bit fatigued on bright young brash whiskies), so I am hoping for something mature and mellow while retaining the same complexity of flavor I like in Auchroisk.
I notice an interesting trend with how the SMWS names the bottles of Auchroisk: they are all noncommittal names that center around mystery or risk-taking: "Adventurous African Safari" ... "Something to Mull Over" ... "Earthy and Mysterious" ... and now "Curious and Alluring." How odd.
Here are the official tasting notes:
After eleven years in ex-bourbon wood, we transferred this into a second-fill, re-char barrique. The attractive nose offers Turkish delight, butterscotch and honey on buttered toast; also cranberries, peach and papaya, hessian and tobacco leaf. The palate skilfully weaves wood (clove, pencil shavings, basketry) with deep sweetness (ginger-cake, treacle, brandy snaps with cherries and cream); hints of nutty amontillado on the finish. The reduced nose balances honey, vanilla fudge and tablet against lemon toddy and orange marmalade; the wood is still there – now expensive new wooden furniture. The reduced palate proclaims Danish pastries, Portuguese custard tarts and iced caramels; then refined oak and crystallised ginger to finish.
Honey on buttered toast sounds lovely; cranberry, peach, and papaya are all welcome notes. I am curious about pencil shavings and "basketry" (!?) when combined with deep sweetness and amontillado - my favorite kind of sherry. It sounds like it could either be great, or bonkers. Only one way to find out. Bottled at cask strength, 57.5% ABV. Here we go...
Nose: This nose is significantly more "normal" than the other bottles of Auchroisk I've had. In fact, it's downright classy: cocktail peaches (the syrupy kind), honey, dark red berries (cranberries and grapes - the wine influence?), cusp-of-ripeness tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, guava!), young tobacco, mild oak, moss. Surprisingly rich and complex!
Usually the Auchroisk bottles I've had have been wild and untamed and full of very bold, very unusual flavors left and right. This is more mild-mannered for sure, although the peach-and-cranberry mixture is somewhat unusual and really, really delicious to smell.
With a splash of water, it stays largely the same, with - perhaps - a little more emphasis on the tropical elements.
Mouthfeel: Big, thick, chewy texture. Really surprisingly meaty on the tongue.
Palate: Ahhhh.... Ah. Ah, yes, that's the Auchroisk I remember, only older, less brash, more balanced, less crazy. This is quite nice neat, even at 57.5%. Sweet honey mixes with oak ash, malt barley, ginger and clove, peach, cherry, and lots more syrupy tropical fruit. Outstandingly fruity, with a rather surprisingly intense wine influence, considering that the barrique was a second fill re-char. It must have held a ton of wine tannins from whatever was in it before.
With a splash of water, I suddenly get a wider streak of sweet barley malt sugars and vanilla icing: very lovely. The official note of "vanilla fudge" is right on the money, I'd say. Also, strangely, brightly polished furniture, freshly unpacked.
Finish: Faintly smoky with lingering cranberry, cherry, and hints of cracked pepper, ginger, and oak. Medium length, ends the dram nicely.
Verdict: This is easily the best bottle of Auchroisk I've had so far, out of five. I may never know what in hell is going on with all these endless wine barrique finishes of Auchroisk at the SMWS, but they are all more or less successful, and this one is fantastic.
This is one of those rare bottles that I am going to try and save and save as long as possible - 13 years is just the right age for it - it tastes exactly in that mature 12-15 range. I hope SMWS gets this message and holds on to the Auchroisk casks a little longer in the future; 13 really is twice as good as 7, in this case. Now, if only they could get Diageo to quit using this exclusively for Johnnie Walker, and release it as a single malt, part of my whisky journey would be complete.
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