While an Auchentoshan from Wemyss Malts was the first ever whisky I reviewed on Words of Whisky, the Lowland distillery is far from a staple on this blog. While I’ve tasted some decent ones, there’s never been an Auchentoshan that really made my whisky heart skip a beat. Maybe I haven’t been searching well enough.
Either way, it means that I don’t go out of my way to taste the newest Auchentoshan expressions, be it from the distillery itself or the ones bottled by the independents. However, I do always try to have at least a certain amount of samples from entry-level malts in my drawer. And that’s the category that this Auchentoshan Three Wood falls in.
Three wood, of course, signifies that this whisky matured in three different types of cask: American oak bourbon, Spanish oak Oloroso sherry, and finally Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. Like all Auchentoshan, this one is of course triple distilled.
Auchentoshan Three Wood (43%, OB, 2017)
Nose: Old, damp oak and furniture polish, with hints of tobacco, honey and brown sugar, as well as some soft notes of dried red fruit and leather.
Taste: Drying. The oak is very noticeable (too much), as is a ginger note, but it is also creamy with plenty of dark chocolate and cherries. Finally a subtle tartiness, maybe similar to aceto balsamico (although far from as rich and complex as the real thing).
Finish: Spicy and dry, as well as milk chocolate.
Score: 81
Bigger flavours than you’d usually get at this price point (those peat monsters notwithstanding), but not completely balanced. Good value for money though.
Photo: The Whisky Exchange
