As if the Blind Tasting Competition wasn’t difficult enough, the organization decided it was a good idea to bring in another whisky that was hand-filled at the distillery itself. That’s the third in the last five days!
Anyway, upon tasting sample #9, I figured it was relatively young, sherry matured and had a high alcohol percentage, which all turned out to be right. However, I couldn’t discover a discerning characteristic that told me which distillery it was. What it did remind me of, was Tamdhu. I thought it was similar to the Tamdhu Batch Strength or this single cask Tamdhu. And I still think it is comparable, but as it turns out, this whisky was produced somewhere else entirely.
Auchentoshan 9 Years Old ‘Distillery Cask’ (59,9%, OB, C#34)
Nose: Big on the sherry. Dry. Cocoa powder, dark chocolate. Water brings out notes of vanilla, pastry and peaches. Opens up well.
Taste: Syrupy arrival, with cherries and brown sugar. Quite spicy though, lots of pepper, a good amount of cloves, as well as some cinnamon. This is fairly immature still. Water does make it a bit more accessible.
Finish: Drying, dark chocolate and cherries.
Rating: 82
Decent stuff, just not exactly at its peak yet. I feel this might’ve benefited from a few more years of maturation. But then again, what do I know…
Photo: Whiskybase
