Auchroisk 15 Year (SMWS 95.52 "Moorish and Moreish")

 The fifth of six drams served at the April outturn tasting for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") at the Jack Rose Saloon in Adams Morgan, Washington DC. At these events, you sit at a small table and one by one make guesses about the six scotches in front of you: age, type of cask, which distillery (multiple choice, out of five provided), along with a field to write notes. 

I suppose I have become something of an aficionado of Auchroisk (pronounced Oth-rusk), the Diageo distillery that produces the backbone of Johnnie Walker Blue, among other Diageo blends. I have bought every single one that SMWS has brought to market in the last two and half years, and they have all rewarded me with intriguing flavors. Before this bottle, they have unanimously been red wine barrique finished - this one is sherry. Let's take a look at the official notes:

We imagined being part of a caravan of camels in the desert approaching an oasis where we could rest, re-fill our water skins and gaze into the clear and starry night sky with a sip out of our bota bag. On the palate the wine was certainly a Malbec with notes of black cherry, plums, prunes and raisins as we dipped dates into a walnut Sherry vinaigrette. After reduction we cooked chicken paprikash with Espelette chilli peppers and enjoyed fig chutney on pumpernickel bread with a refreshing glass of prune juice.  After thirteen years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 1st fill Spanish oak Oloroso hogshead.

A caravan of camels! Wow, this is unusually elevated prose, even by SMWS standards. Still - it was a great dram. Let's explore:

Nose: Interesting mix of bourbon and sherry influence. Red dried fruit, creamy bourbon-oriented vanilla, leather, yeast, furniture polish, dry wood, old raisins, cherry pits, oak tannins. My friend Rob said this scented just like a sherry-finished bourbon (!); I can't disagree. 

Mouthfeel: Thick, viscous.

Palate: Quite floral, with a lot of orange (fruit, peel, and pith), leather jackets, more furniture polish, balsamic vinagar, and lots of red wine gums. Very much like bourbon with sherry added in later. Vanilla pods later in the development. I don't quite get "chicken paprikash," but there is a meaty/savory element here, an undercurrent. Charred figs, too. A bit of alcohol appears on the back end. 

This is one of those surprising drams that punches way above its weight class in terms of complex flavors - similar to the sherry-matured Dailuaine I had last November, which was itself only a shade or two less complex than a cask strength Macallan. This is a really good example of a mixed bourbon/sherry maturation. The best of both worlds. 

Finish: Dry wood, almost like cork, spices, leather, hints of red fruit coming through. Mostly wood, but not unpleasantly so. 

Verdict: A great dram. A great mix of rich bourbon vanilla/caramel and oak with sherry flavors and spicy European oak. Auchroisk seems destined for such wine-heavy finishes, for whatever reason. Perhaps the distillate simply fills in underneath the wine finish very well - which would explain why Diageo uses it so extensively in blends. This one is worth your time.