I’ll open with this: I haven’t had many Auchentoshan before. There’s one on my blog by Wemyss, and I’ve tasted a handful of others at festivals and tastings. None of them have convinced me to buy or try more from this Lowland distillery. But I’ve heard a lot of good things about the bottling the Auchentoshan 1992/2014 by Whiskybroker. So much so that I was beginning to wonder whether I should just go ahead and buy it.
As luck would have it, I’m currently participating in the Virtual Blind Tasting of the Dutch Whisky Forum, and the third sample turned out to be exactly that Auchentoshan. So I got to taste it blind and without bias. There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to make a decision: buy or no buy? Below are my blind tasting notes.
Auchentoshan 1992/2014 (50,7%, Whiskybroker, C#5433)
Nose: Lots of citrus supplemented by vanilla and coconut shavings. A very fruity nose with lemon, grapefruit, melon, pineapple, banana and green apples. And just the tiniest bit of mint at the end.
Taste: A mouth full of grapefruit, which translates to a lot of bitterness. But the nice kind. Slightly dry with plenty of lemon and a fair amount of wood. Good, but not very exciting.
Finish: Apple, banana, white pepper. Drying and could be a bit longer.
Rating: 83
Good, but not exciting. The aroma’s are wonderful, but the taste and finish lack imagination. So no buy for me, although I understand why many people did buy it. I would’ve liked a little bit more depth.
