Okay, this is the last scotch of our ‘holy baby Jesus the winter months have only been whiskey so far’ we’ll be onto a variety of other spirits starting next week. This was actually picked up as part of a Buy 2 Get 1 Free deal with Laphroaig Select, and Ardmore – or as some might say the deal of the fucken year.
The big question around this though is that because the 12 year is now a lot more rare and hard to find, and because it’s not a total departure like the Blood Oak – should you go Classic or American Oak? Or Three Wood but that’s for another time.
What they Say: “Bottle: Born in 1823, Auchentoshan triple distills every drop, to let smooth complex flavours triumph. Auchentoshan American Oak ages gracefully in first fill US bourbon casks. The result: a smooth and complex Single Malt Scotch Whisky, with notes of white peach and smooth vanilla cream.
Box Side 1 (Every Drop Triple Distilled) – Born in 1823, Auchentoshan triple distills every drop, to let smooth complex flavours triumph. It is a tradition we are proud to uphold. Only triple distillation allows our smooth, complex flavours to develop as the spirit matures in first fill US bourbon casks.
Box Side 2 (Fine American Bourbon Casks) – First fill US bourbon casks are perfect for maturing Auchentoshan Where once they held bourbon, now we trust our spirit to their care. In the dark chill of our warehouses, there is, even more, to be revealed; we carefully marry these casks to create the crisp citrus notes and unmistakable smoothness of Auchentoshan American Oak.
Box Side 3 (Making it All Worthwhile) – To the eye / Bright gold. To the nose / Bourbon vanilla and coconut with layers of zesty citrus fruit. To the tongue / Refreshingly smooth yet lively with vanilla cream, coconut and white peach. To the end / Crisp, with sugared grapefruit and a hint of spice. One last thing / People here say ‘ock-un-tosh-un’. Translated from the Gaelic, it means ‘corner of the field’
Taste: 7.0 – You get an initial brunt of smoky flavor. Not in a high-power peaty kinda of way though.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – Here it sort of mellows that smoke into the citrus flavours, and has a nice long lingering aftertaste.
Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – That first blow and the rest of the taste overall help make this not as clearly smooth as could be, but that burn is more smoke than fire.
Aroma: 7.5 – It’s certainly much stronger than other offerings in the brand, and the combo of smoke and citrus is working rather well. It’s not perfect though.
Honesty: 6.0 – That’s a lot of text that was not available online to copy. Combine that with the fact it repeats itself 6 times and talks about the smoothness here and it’s not looking so great. Auchentoshan has typically been better about this, but sadly not here. (Also the ‘every drop triple distilled’ thing is dumb, no one cares) Still scotch though.
Mixability: 5.5
W/ Rocks: 5.5 – That removes all complexity, but increases the power. It’s almost like if you imagined the scotch from that initial brunt of smoke and went in an entirely different direction. The problem being the first direction was better.
Value: 6.0 – The problem here is you have to contend, should I go for the Classic which is 3 dollars cheaper, but is a better rocks scotch, or this? Overall I’d go classic, but if you’re a neat kinda person – better to go American. (Oak that is) This ignores the crazy deal it was bought under.
Google Shop Average: $38
Website: http://www.auchentoshan.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.5
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Metric Score: 46/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.57 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.5
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Final Thoughts: Let us be very clear here – we in no way say this is a bad whisky or even a bad Auchentoshan. If anything it strengthens their brand and overall provides you differing options buying from them. It isn’t, however, the ‘killer app’ of their line like some other whiskies can often have though.
