Whisky Review: Provenance Auchentoshan 13 Year 2002/2015

I've had very mixed experiences with IB Auchentoshan, especially ones on the younger side. They often seem to be casks that weren't maturing particularly well and diverged from the distillery profile in one way or another. But I keep looking, because when they hit the mark they really work for me.

This whisky was distilled in October 2002, filled into a refill ex-bourbon hogshead, then bottled in November 2015 at 46% without coloring or chill filtration.

I purchased this sample from Dramtime, where both the sample and the full bottle are still available.

Provenance Auchentoshan 13 Year 2002/2015 Cask #DL10969

Nose: classic bourbon cask Auchentoshan - waxy, mixed citrus peel, green apple, caramel, dusty malt, fudge-y/polished oak, vanilla, something fishy in the background. After adding a few drops of water the citrus and vanilla notes get stronger, some berries come out behind, the wax fades into the background, and it feels aromatic in an almost perfumed fashion (but without any floral notes).

Taste: sweet with a citric tartness up front, creamier caramel around the middle, clean fade out through creamy fresh malt and vanilla. After dilution the sweetness becomes more mellow, the tartness largely fades until the back, but citrus peel rides on top of everything.

Finish: very malty, pleasant oak, lingering citrus peel and herbal notes

This is just really nice. Not particularly complicated, just a very straightforward presentation of what Auchentoshan is like when its put in a decent ex-bourbon cask. I happen to be a fan of this style, even if it doesn't reach the heights of their older casks. The finish is probably the weakest link, but my expectations weren't particularly high. I would happily buy a bottle if it was closer to €50, which is what I expect for a malt of this age.

Whisky Review: Old Particular Auchentoshan 18 Year 1997/2016

Auchentoshan doesn't get a lot of love, even when it's older. Some exceptions can be made when it's matured in sherry casks, but the bourbon casks usually retain too much of the polarizing distillery character.

This particular whisky was distilled in December 1997, filled into a virgin oak hogshead, then bottled in June 2016 at 48.4% without coloring or chill filtration.

I purchased this sample from Dramtime.nl

Old Particular Auchentoshan 18 Year 1997/2016 Cask #DL11203

Nose: creamy Auchentoshan malt with some maize character, sweet bourbon cask notes of caramel and vanilla, berries. After adding a few drops of water it is similar, but some grassy/floral character comes out.

Taste: sweet with berry notes up front, fades slowly into creamy malt and a touch of oak at the back. After dilution the sweetness becomes thicker and more syrupy, but the oak tannins spread out and become stronger to maintain balance.

Finish: balanced sweet malt, savory character, mild oak tannins, berries in the background

While there are parallels between this cask and the Scott's Selection I reviewed earlier, this is much more clearly a modern whisky. Much of the funkier medicinal notes and grassiness in the 1983 have disappeared leaving a much more straightforwardly pleasant product. I might even go so far as to say that if you actively dislike Auchentoshan, you'll probably still like this. There's absolutely nothing objectionable about it and I would have a bit of a tough time pegging it as a Lowland spirit rather than a generic Speysider. Some of this may be attributable to the virgin oak hogshead it was aged in, though I find it surprising that such an active cask left left a relatively light mark on the spirit.

At the time of writing this appears to still be available, though I find the price rather steep for what you're getting. While I'm glad to have sampled it, I don't find myself needing more. It's a pleasant drink and I wouldn't turn down more if offered, but I suspect there are more engaging choices out there.

Whisky Review: Scott's Selection Auchentoshan 21 Year 1983/2004

Scott's Selection occupies an interesting niche in the American malt enthusiast's psyche. Given relatively short shrift when they were originally released, they have since gained a stronger reputation as overlooked gems, especially since many survived on liquor store shelves into the whisky blogging era. However, some were real shelf turds, such as this Auchentoshan that was finally put on deep discount at Binny's after a decade or more. In this case it may have as much to do with the distillery's lackluster reputation among enthusiasts, especially when it comes from a bourbon cask rather than sherry. Luckily for me, older bourbon cask Auchentoshan is my jam, so let's see how this one did.

This whisky was distilled in 1983, filled into what was probably a refill ex-bourbon hogshead, then bottled in 2004 at 52.4% without coloring or chill filtration.

Thanks to Michael Kravitz for organizing this bottle split.

Scott's Selection Auchentoshan 21 Year 1983/2004

Nose: classic Auchentoshan style - fairly light, good malt/wood balance, wood shavings vanilla, hints of overripe fruit, light floral/grassy notes, faintly medicinal. After adding a few drops of water the malt becomes stronger, while the other notes retreat.

Taste: sweet malt throughout, grassy notes growing stronger and more vegetal towards the back, an acidic edge, floral and bubblegum top notes, citrus peel in the background (lemon, orange, grapefruit), bittersweet malt and oak at the back. After dilution the up front sweetness and the savoriness at the back are amplified, while the structure remains largely the same.

Finish: a little fizzy, long lightly sweet malt, vaguely medicinal, savory/grassy fade-out

This isn't a complex malt, just a solid example of a good ex-bourbon cask that's been left to sit for a decent amount of time. While not as aggressively grassy as the similarly aged Archives sample I tried a while back, it has everything I would expect from an unpeated Lowland whisky. Surprisingly the strength never makes itself apparent - if you had given this to me blind I might have guessed it was at 46%.

For a different perspective on this whisky, check out MAO's review from the same bottle.

Whisky Review: Rattray's Selection No. 1 19 Year Blended Malt

A.D. Rattray, an independent bottler whose owner is part of the family that used to own Bowmore, released a number of blended malts in the early-2010s that more or less slipped under the radar. Most of this has to do with the fact that anything with the word 'blend' in front tends to get a lot less traction with whisky geeks unless it comes from Compass Box, which in this case means that they really missed out. Getting a full strength whisky at almost two decades old composed entirely from sherry butts for under $100 would be almost unthinkable right now and was still a steal when it was released in 2010.

This whisky was constructed from four sherry butts - Auchentoshan 1991 (Cask 495), Balblair 1990 (Cask #1142), Benriach 1989 (Cask #50064), and Bowmore 1991 (Cask #2073) - that were married together and bottled at 55.8% without coloring or chill filtration.

Thanks to Michael Kravitz for this sample.

Rattray's Selection No. 1 19 Year Blended Malt

Nose: balanced sherry and mossy/ashy peat with solid intensity, savory malt, fresh baked bread, caramel, mild oak, and floral perfume. After adding a few drops of water the sherry is toned down, allowing the malt to becoming roughly equal, vanilla comes out, and it is much more savory overall.

Taste: a fair amount of alcohol heat through, sweet sherry up front, syrupy/salty with green fruit (apples, pears) and floral overtones in the middle, slowly transitioning into bittersweet with a prickle of peat and savory oak at the back. After dilution it becomes bittersweet throughout with more savory sherry and peat up front plus some ashes and stronger near the back.

Finish: lingering sherry residue, balanced malt and oak, wood ash

I really wish I had more time with this one. Even when I have a hard time teasing out the details, it's a really enjoyable whisky that neatly balances its constituent parts. It would be great if we could get more of these kinds of blended malts where peat is an element, but not as strongly as a full Islay single malt. With so few distilleries currently producing medium peated malts, this is one of the few avenues we have for enjoying those kinds of whiskies.

Whisky Review: G&C Pearls of Scotland Auchentoshan 16 Year 1998/2015

While most of Auchentoshan's lineup is not particularly well-regarded, the Three Wood gets far more love in the whisky community. This is likely because almost any malt with a big whollop of sherry will have significant appeal these days. While I wasn't quite so fond of it, I figured I would give this one a try anyway.

This whisky was distilled in September 1998, filled into sherry butt, then bottled in May 2015 at 55.3% without coloring or chill filtration in an outturn of 590 bottles.

G&C Pearls of Scotland Auchentoshan 16 Year 1998/2015 Cask #2197

Nose: fresh, not a ton of sherry, clean malt, a little sour, grilled pineapple, savory, cured meat, creamy herbs, gentle oak. After adding a few drops of water the freshness turns into new make character briefly, then the savory character and oak become stronger.

Taste: rich but not overwhelming sherry, subdued sweetness, savory undertones, mild oak, barrel char, chocolate, and raisins start around the middle and grow slightly towards the back, herbal/grassy notes in the background throughout. After dilution some nice savory character is layered on top up front, with the oak becoming chocolate-y near the back.

Finish: dry sherry, raisins, oak tannins, leather

Unlike the bourbon matured Auchentoshans I've reviewed, this one is mostly about the sherry cask rather than the distillery. While there's nothing particularly wrong with this whisky, there's nothing very gripping either. The savory character is probably the best part, but isn't enough to make this a winner. I appreciate that it's drier than a lot of sherry casks without being overly tannic, but I think this one could have been left for another 5-10 years to develop more fully. It's OK, but that's not enough to make me shell out $100. $70, maybe, but I don't think it's going to go on sale like that.

Whisky Review: Old Malt Cask Auchentoshan 15 Year 1997/2013

Auchentoshan tends to be a hate it or love it malt, with relatively few in the latter category. While some dislike it because they find it boring, others find it a strange and inconsistent malt. I tend to be a fan, especially when aged in pure bourbon casks, but there are still exceptions.

This whisky was distilled in December 1997, filled into an ex-bourbon cask (probably Nth-refill), and bottled in May 2013 at 50% without coloring or chill filtration in an outturn of 211 bottles.

Thanks to Florin for this sample.

Old Malt Cask Auchentoshan 15 Year 1997/2013 Cask #9807

Nose: a fair bit of residual new make character - green malt and solvent, popcorn without butter, floral perfume, pink bubblegum, horse manure with partially digested hay/grass that turns somewhat peat-y with time, brine, berry jam. After adding a few drops of water the farm-y notes resolve more clearly into peat.

Taste: fairly sweet up front with a layer of caramel throughout, dirty lemon peel, vanilla, and a thick layer of dusty floral notes begin around the middle fading slightly towards the back, earthy and sour oak going into the finish. After dilution the palate becomes flatter but loses some of the more unpleasant notes in a cheap blend-y kind of way, generic sweetness and minimal oak but less grungy.

Finish: muddy floral notes, vague sweetness, cardboard, lemon furniture polish

The first time I tasted this I couldn't really understand why it was bottled. There wasn't anything that made me think it was ready for primetime. The second tasting was more positive as the younger elements had largely blown off, leaving a more pleasant but not particularly remarkable malt. Blind I might have picked it as a youngish and reasonably competent blend with a little bit of something peated. This makes me wonder if this was a cask that didn't fit any of the profiles for Auchentoshan's lineup and was sold on. It certainly doesn't seem like any other Auchentoshan I've tried before. It's still available from some shops in the EU and while I wouldn't actively dissuade anyone from buying a bottle, it wouldn't be at the top of my list. For younger Auchentoshans the 1999 bourbon barrels seem to be a better bet.

For a different perspective, check out Michael's notes from the same bottle.

Whisky Review: Provenance Auchentoshan 12 Year/1999

Not a lot to say about this one. Despite the label, there is very little information about its provenance. It was distilled at Auchentoshan sometime in 1999, aged for at least 12 years in an oak cask, then bottled at 46% without coloring or chill filtration for Douglas Laing's McGibbon's Provenance line.

Provenance Auchentoshan 12 Year/1999

Nose: thick bourbon cask influence, spicy oak, a little sour and funky (Jamaican rum-style), overripe fruit. After adding a few drops of water the funk is amplified and it is much drier overall.

Taste: rich, creamy malt and American oak sweetness throughout, fading towards bittersweet at the back, generically fruity with dunder funk around the middle, soft oak tannins around the back. After dilution the funk grows much stronger and suppresses much of the sweetness, while the oak tannins also become stronger and more bitter at the back.

Finish: malt, oak, vague fruit, lingering funk

In most respects this seems like a fairly basic bourbon cask malt. The funkier notes that remind me of Jamaican rums. It's not impossible that this is a rum cask matured or finished malt, but that seems a little unlikely given that Provenance is the more bare-bones line of single malt from Douglas Laing.

But whatever the source, that character keeps it from being generic or boring. With that said, water amplifies the funk a bit too much even for me and throws the malt out of balance. Unless you're really into those notes - and even then you might as well drink Jamaican rum instead - I'd hold off on the water. This was already reduced as far as it could reasonably go.

Whisky Review: Auchentoshan Hand Bottled 14 Year 1999/2013

Beyond it being a nice distillery with a well-done tour, one of the reasons to visit Auchentoshan is that they usually offer a number of single cask bottlings only available at the distillery shop. Conveniently these are available in either 200 mL or 700 mL bottles, which I appreciated since it was the first stop on my bike tour of Scotland and I knew I would be carrying whatever I bought for several weeks. When I was there they had a younger and an older single cask on offer. I went with the younger one, both because of the price and because I read reviews suggesting that it was the better pick.

This whisky was distilled on August 24th, 1999, filled into an ex-bourbon barrel (probably first-fill), then bottled on August 26th, 2013 at 52.8% without coloring or chill filtration.

Auchentoshan Hand Bottled 14 Year 1999/2013 Cask #2052

Nose: rich and spicy bourbon cask influence - honey, moderate oak, clove/cinnamon/nutmeg, vanilla frosting, creamy malt, savory, huge fruit/berry/peach/pineapple notes in an almost sherried mode. After adding a few drops of water the oak becomes drier, but the honey and berries are amplified, the vanilla turns into whipped cream, and everything is more integrated in general.

Taste: thick and sweet, undergirding oak, caramel, indeterminate fruitiness starting around the middle, citrus (lemon and grapefruit) and savory notes at the back. After dilution the sweetness integrates with the oak, the fruitiness spreads out, and the savoriness at the back gets bigger, and it all seems more bourbon-y.

Finish: big bittersweet oak, berries, citrus, and tropical fruit in the background, a little savory

Out of the distillery-only bottles I brought back from Scotland, this is the one I most wish I had more of. It hits almost all of the notes that I like about well-done bourbon without the overly aggressive caramel and oak, letting the fruit notes shine.

While they're not at full strength, van Wees has released a number of similar 1999 vintage Auchentoshan bourbon barrels that I'm going to have to try to see if they can capture some of what I liked about this cask.

Experimental Whisky: North British/Auchentoshan/Bowmore Blend

One of the goals I've had in exploring blends is to see if I can replicate some of the blends that are already out there. While I don't have nearly as much whisky to work with, I can at least approach some of the flavor profiles.

Morrison-Bowmore, for a long time (before Suntory snapped up Beam), was composed of three different malt distilleries - the eponymous Bowmore on Islay, Auchentoshan in the Lowlands, and Glen Garioch in the Highlands. Unsurprisingly, these three malts were combined into a proprietary blend called Rob Roy.

While I currently don't own anything from Glen Garioch, I do have the standard 12 Year expressions from Auchentoshan and Bowmore and have previously found that they work well together.

•14 mL Sig. North British 16 Year CS
•6 mL water
•7 mL Auchentoshan 12 Year
•3 mL Bowmore 12 Year

North British/Auchentoshan/Bowmore Blend

Nose: fresh wheat bread, clean malt, grassy, cotton candy, grapes, wood smoke, a touch of mossy peat, dusty oak. After adding a few drops of water, it becomes brighter and more malty, the sherry is more apparent, and the peat really stands out - becoming much more smoky and coastal.

Taste: moderately sweet malt and grain up front, gaining sherry overtones and an undercurrent of oak with a bit of peat and smoke further back. After dilution, the malt becomes sweeter and more prominent, the peat and oak integrate while spreading out across the palate, giving it a more bittersweet profile overall.

Finish: grain, malt, mild peat and oak, a bit of sherry residue

For a grain-heavy blend proofed down to 40%, this was surprisingly tasty. Interestingly, the malt actually came to the fore after adding some more water, which is a property I've noticed from a handful of other blends before. This leads me to wonder if there is a rational for bottling most blends at a lower proof, beyond simple economics. Maybe some of them really do just work better that way? At the very least, I'm starting to believe that lower bottling proofs make the flavors of grain whisky less readily apparent, which would be a strong incentive for blends that are composed primarily from grain whisky.

Whisky Review: Archives Auchentoshan 23 Year 1990/2014

One of the discoveries that I've made is that I really prefer triple-distilled whisky from ex-bourbon rather than ex-sherry casks. Something about it just fits with the caramel and vanilla flavors that come from American oak without the overlay of sherry. This has been most noticeable from Auchentoshan and Hazelburn.

This sample comes from the WhiskyBase Shop, who not only do their own bottlings under the Archives label, but also put out samples from a lot of the bottles that pass through their shop. At 20 mL, they're clearly aimed at getting people to try whiskies that they otherwise wouldn't in the hope that people will then buy a full bottle. With that in mind I slipped one of these into my latest order.

The whisky was distilled in November 1990, aged for 23 years in a hogshead (probably refill?), then bottled in Septemeber 2014 at 47.7% without coloring or chill filtration.

Archives Auchentoshan 23 Year 1990/2014

Nose: very light - sugar cookies over fresh oak, hay, fruity bubblegum, vanilla, raspberries/strawberries, undercurrent of floral perfume. After adding a few drops of water, the hay becomes a little burnt around the edges, strong notes of lime and eucalyptus emerge, the floral notes integrate with the malt and overtake the sugar cookies, and a bit of chocolate with roasted malt pops out.

Taste: lots of malt and sugarcane sweetness throughout, fades through fresh hay, berry and fruit esters, chocolate-covered oak, and roasted malt, then back to hay. After dilution, the palate gains a lot of thickness, with malt gaining over the sugarcane and the chocolate oak spreading out underneath the other elements, while the hay at the back becomes drier (as opposed to fresh) and sweeter.

Finish: lots of fresh hay, rather sweet, an undercurrent of oak, lingering fruit esters, dark chocolate

This whisky seems to be a very odd mix of youth and maturity. There are elements, like the bourbon cask fruit and chocolate-y oak finish, that I associate with well-aged malts, but at the same time the plastic-y off notes (which admittedly burn off with time) and fresh hay remind me of young spirit. Given the rather reduced proof for something that's not terribly old, I have to wonder if this was bottled more in an effort to keep it from losing any more strength than because it was really at its prime.

With all that said, this nearly convinced me to buy a whole bottle. The whisky takes a while to open up, but it's a really interesting experience. Considering the age, the price is fair, though I would highly encourage you to take advantage of the WhiskyBase Shop's samples to try a bit for yourself first.

Whisky Review: Auchentoshan 12 Year Revisited

I first seriously tried Auchentoshan a couple of years ago and had mixed feelings about their basic 12 Year expression. Later that year I got to visit the distillery, which gave me an increased appreciation for their products.

Since I actively dislike Glenkinchie, Auchentoshan was the obvious choice to represent the Lowlands when I held an introduction of scotch tasting a few months back, giving me an excuse to revisit the whisky.

Auchentoshan has revamped the packaging for its whiskies over the last year or two, which, as always, makes one suspect that they contents have changed a bit as well. Either way, it is still bottled at 40%, presumably with coloring and chill-filtration.

Auchentoshan 12 Year

Nose: creamy purple/bubblegum sherry, grapes, strawberry/raspberry, pineapple, yeast extract, vanilla, malt, bread dough, mild fresh oak, walnuts, green/herbal, floral, incense, a touch of charred wood. After adding a few drops of water, it becomes softer but darker, with the sherry taking on an almost smoky edge, the oak becomes more polished, and the other younger fruit notes mostly disappear.

Taste: a core of malt sweetness with a yeasty/savory undercurrent throughout, sherry comes in quickly behind and gains a bitter chocolate/tannic edge around the middle, which lifts slightly near the back and is joined by a touch of salty bread dough. After dilution, it becomes more malt forward and the sweetness is pushed towards the back where it assumes a vanilla frosting character,

Finish: creamy malt with an overlay of bubblegum sherry, crisp oak tannins

The most striking difference between my first impressions of this whisky and the ones I have gotten more recently is how much more clearly sherried the whisky is now. While the mini I tried was more bourbon cask-driven (I was actually unsure if there were any sherry casks in the mix until I checked with the master blender), the full bottle tilted more towards the sherry casks. I don't know if that's just a difference between minis and full bottles or if there has been an actual shift in towards sherry casks in the makeup.

I still wish that Suntory would up its game and release Auchentoshan with the craft presentation it deserves, as the palate falls a little bit flat in comparison to the nose. But I will admit that going through a full bottle has made me appreciate its charms more fully. The use of sherry casks in this expression is relatively deft and has a unique sherry character, though I still find myself longing for the purity of their bourbon cask spirit. Ultimately its strength is as a crowd pleaser - I've introduced this whisky to a number of new and experienced drinkers over the last couple of months and it never failed to impress. It's sweet without being cloying and light enough to be an easy sipper without being boring.

Scotland 2013: Auchentoshan and Traveling to Arran

Trying to figure out how best to pack my panniers - a daily exercise

My first full day in Scotland... I woke up bright and early, reasonably well-rested and ready to head off into the unknown. I had two goals to accomplish: ride ~15 miles to Auchentoshan distillery for a tour, then get to Lochranza on the Isle of Arran by some combination of train, ferry, and biking.

After a smallish breakfast, I set out to get to my 10 AM tour of Auchentoshan. I had a few different options for how to get there, but went with more or less reversing course from the day before - down Byres to the river, then taking the cycle route paralleling Dumbarton until it petered out around Clydebank. At that point I more or less threw up my hands and got on Dumbarton, taking ease of navigation over the threat of cars not noticing me on a relatively busy road. I overshot the turn to Mountblow Road by a bit, but thankfully caught the mistake fairly quickly and got myself turned around. Thankfully I was able to ride the sidewalk along the A82 instead of having to get into traffic, then quickly ducked down the private road to Auchentoshan with plenty of time to spare.

The man at the gate was quite nice and promised to watch out for my bike if I propped it up by his shed. From there I wandered about the distillery buildings for a bit and eventually found my way to the visitor center.

There was a fairly large group of men waiting for a private tour, but I lucked out and there was only one other couple waiting around for the 10 AM standard tour. Rose greeted the three of us and took us off to see the Auchentoshan process. Rather than saddle you with the details, I'll point you towards Auchentoshan's very detailed website that covers most of what you'd want to know.

There are a few tidbits I can add, such as the picture right above. That middle bottle is blue for a reason - the foreshots, which contain lots of nasty chemicals like methanol and acetone, take so much copper sulfate out of the stills that it colors the liquid. You can also see it in the spirit safes as a blue-green patina around the chutes. This is why stills wear out - the copper is literally being stripped out of them molecule by molecule every time they're used.

After seeing their production process, we took a quick look through a dunnage warehouse. Auchentoshan only ages some of its spirit on site, with the rest going to the parent company Morrison Bowmore's Springburn Bond site in Glasgow, which is also where all of their whisky is bottled. A few more interesting things I learned during the tour:

Auchentoshan proofs all of their whisky with distilled water, so there's none of the "pure Highland/Island/whathaveyou water" imparting flavor directly to their non-cask strength bottles.

When their coopers rework ex-bourbon barrels into hogsheads, they put new oak heads on the casks to impart extra flavor, making an interesting hybrid of new and refill oak. This was also the first place that confirmed the fact that most sherry casks used in the whisky industry are now made custom - casks tend to be built new, seasoned with sherry destined for vingear, then emptied and shipped to Scotland. So despite all the talk of 'top-quality sherry casks' and whatnot, very few of them will have been filled with top of the line sherry. Ultimately this makes sense, since sherry bodegas are less interested in wood extraction than scotch whisky distillers. Sherry primarily gains flavor via oxidation, so the bodegas would rather use very old casks without a lot left in the wood to extract. Scotch whisky distillers want more active casks that will impart a lot of flavor to the spirit. However, this does cost a lot of money - Rose quoted a price of ~£500 for a custom sherry butt.

After our tour through the warehouse, we dropped into the tasting lounge, where Rose poured us samples of various Auchentoshan whiskies. Because we were such a small group, she actually offered to let us try whatever we wanted from the core lineup, rather than just the standard Three Wood pour. Having tried the 12, 18, and Three Wood earlier this year, I went for the 21 Year. Since I didn't have proper glassware I wasn't able to get detailed tasting notes, but my impression was that it was a bit too woody in comparison to the 18 Year that I absolutely adore. The 21 also has some sherry casks added to the mix, which didn't help when compared again the bourbon wood clarity of the 18. While a transcendent experience would have been lovely, there is something satisfying about enjoying a younger and more affordable whisky over than an older one.

After snagging a small single cask bottle of Auchentoshan at the visitor's center (haven't cracked it yet, so you'll have to wait for tasting notes), I packed my things up again and prepared to ride back into Glasgow. I took a slightly different route back after finding the Firth & Clyde Canal path, which started with the tiniest set of locks I've ever seen.

The water in the canal is almost level with the bridge, so instead of building a higher bridge they installed a set of locks to allow boats to pass underneath. While not quick, it's an ingenious solution that allowed the other infrastructure to stay in place. I continued along the path for a number of miles, until the pavement ran out and I was forced to head back onto the roads. I was saved by the Scot Guide app on my phone, as Google Maps had reset, leaving me without any other way to navigate (yes, I did have a paper map, but it was buried somewhere in my panniers). I can't recommend it enough if you're going to Scotland, as it stores maps offline and thus doesn't require cellular or WiFi service to work. After some circumlocution, I eventually made my way into the city center. Unfortunately it had taken me a lot more time than I had planned on, so I had to grab some yogurt for a quick lunch - setting a bad precedent for the rest of the trip - before navigating my way to Glasgow Central Station. There I purchased tickets to Ardrossan Harbour so I could catch a ferry to the Isle of Arran. The train ride was fairly uneventful, though I enjoyed watching the countryside slide by.

The train pulled into the last stop just in time for me to purchase tickets for the ferry and walk on board. I tied up my bike and slipped upstairs to the top deck.

Saying goodbye to the mainland for a bit

The weather was windy but dry and relatively warm, which I appreciated since I knew I had more miles to ride before the end of the day. We disembarked at Brodick, where I stocked up on a few essentials that I had forgotten and tucked into a late lunch/early dinner to refuel before I got back on my bike. The chili I had was... palatable... but then, I'm not sure how much I expected of TexMex cooking half a world away. The important part was that it was filling, so I set off with a reasonably full belly.

The opening miles of the road from Brodick to Lochranza were relatively flat and in decent shape compared to what I was expecting - everything I had read and heard suggested that island roads in Scotland tended to be a mess. The views were almost universally excellent.

The view across Brodick's harbor as the next CalMac ferry comes in

Resting in a small park a few miles along the road

The road continued to be pleasant until I reached North Glen Sannox. It was an astoundingly beautiful valley, but the road became a long and unrelenting uphill slog. Much of this was due to it being my first real day out, the fact that I had already ridden a respectable number of miles that morning, and not eating lunch at the proper time. Unfortunately this also meant that I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, but others have done as well or better than I could have.

The downhill descent on the other side was a little bit harrowing, as it had gotten a bit damp and it was both long and steep. Thankfully my brakes held out and it was only a little bit further to reach Lochranza. My first look across the bay was gorgeous, with the old castle standing watch over the sea.

I finally reached my destination, the Castlekirk B&B, where I found that a) I was the only person scheduled to stay there and b) the proprietor was taking off for a vacation, leaving me in her friend's hands. After being shown to my small but comfortable room, I more or less flopped over and went to sleep after such a long day.

Whisky Review: Auchentoshan Vertical Tasting

Auchentoshan is one of the few remaining Lowland distilleries and the only one to still exclusively use triple distillation. Its location just outside the Glasgow city limits also makes it one of the easiest whisky distilleries to visit.

The distillery was founded in 1800 (or 1825 - accounts differ). The early history is sketchy because most of the records were destroyed during WWII when the distillery was hit by Luftwaffe airstrikes (one bomb crater is now used as a pond to hold cooling water for the condensers). What is known is that the distillery passed through about half a dozen different owners before being purchased by Morrison-Bowmore in 1984. The Lowlander distillery was a good compliment to the company's two other distilleries - Glen Garioch in the Highlands and the eponymous Bowmore on Islay. Morrison-Bowmore was in turn acquired by the Japanese drinks conglomerate Suntory, who have continued to invest in their trio of Scottish whisky distilleries. The distillery was not open to visitors until fairly recently, but now hosts a well-regarded visitors center that I will hopefully get to see this summer.

All of the miniature bottles for this tasting came from The Whisky Exchange (which has a pretty broad selection of other minis as well). However, this does mean that my sample of the 12 Year is bottled at 40% rather than the US-spec 43%. Because of the lower bottling proofs, I'm guessing that all of these whiskies are chill filtered. Additionally, I can be sure that they've all had caramel colored added - it says so in German on the back.

Auchentoshan 12 Year

Nose: sour/unripe fruit esters (apple, pear, pineapple?), toasted malt, corn, a little grassy, lots of vanilla, caramel, light wine notes, berries in cream, peaches, nutty, roasted marshmallows, undertones of cacao, espresso, barrel char, and lemon. After adding a few drops of water, the malt notes become creamier, with more vanilla and stronger bourbon barrel notes, fruit notes retreat, lighter sour tinge, salted caramels emerge.

Taste: malty sweetness up front, undercurrent of creamy fruit and berries, sour notes along with bourbon grain (corn or wheat) mid-palate, very light oak at the back. After dilution, the sweetness at the front becomes more like sucrose with cane sugar grassiness, the sour and bitter notes from mid-palate back merge in a pleasant fashion, and there are more salted caramel notes in the middle.

Finish: malty bubblegum, still a bit sour, tannins build over multiple sips, somewhat astringent. After dilution it becomes more oak-tannin focused, but lighter and more pleasant.

I feel like this whisky would make a great entry point for a bourbon drinker into the world of single malts. The bourbon barrel character, along with, I understand, the influence of a smaller percentage of ex-sherry casks, is laid pleasantly over malt whisky to produce something that's on the lighter end of the single malt spectrum, but doesn't skimp on flavor. I enjoyed the toasty notes in the nose, though the palate wasn't quite as exciting. Solid, but not particularly inspiring. Craft presentation might help this whisky, both by increasing the mouthfeel and giving it a bit more oomph from higher bottling proof. However, it does form a good introduction to the core whiskies of the brand.

Auchentoshan 18 Year

Nose: green tea, ripe mangos, peaches, wood sugars, bourbon vanilla extract, cake frosting, dark chocolate, creamy toasted oak. After adding a few drops of water, it becomes much sweeter/maltier and more integrated - salted caramel and oak notes overlap, mango slips inside the wood, other fruit notes emerge - apples, pears, wine/grape, orange peel, and rose notes really pop out.

Taste: slightly caramelized sugar up front, well-integrated oak emerges mid-palate - offers a nice counterpoint with the continuing caramel - along with some tropical fruits, slightly grassy near the back. After dilution, there's a brief burst of cognac fruitiness just before the wood sugars up front, followed by a bit of orange peel, then overlapping corn/malt sweetness and oak mid-palate, leaving with cacao and chocolate.

Finish: very mild bitter oak, coffee beans, orange peel, wine, and a hint of malt.

This was easily my favorite of the three. It was nice to see a distillery putting together an older whisky from nothing but bourbon barrels, letting the malt shine on its own without any kind of cask finish. It's a clear case of good spirit going into good wood for a good amount of time. The mango notes throughout the whisky were particularly nice and played a great counterpoint to the bourbon-barrel caramel, vanilla, and oak. It's definitely a lighter, sweeter whisky, but there are just enough oak tannins to keep everything in balance. A superb example of what a distillery can do when they have faith in their malt - my hat goes off to Rachel Barrie, the master blender for Morrison-Bowmore. My only quibble is that I wish they would switch to craft presentation - drop the chill filtration and caramel coloring and bump up the bottling proof a few points. 43% is better than 40%, but that extra bit of care would take this from being a really, really good whisky to a stunner.

Auchentoshan Three Wood

Nose: creamy oloroso/PX sherry (especially captures the savory notes of oloroso sherry), raspberries, raisin fruit leather, strawberry bubblegum, peppery oak, salted caramels, roses, a hint of malt, tropical fruits. After adding a few drops of water, the nose becomes more robust and less sherry-driven, with the malt and bourbon barrel notes becoming more prominent - woody salted caramels, which integrates well with the savory sherry notes, floral/raspberry notes merge, and chocolate and barbecue sauce peek out.

Taste: grape/sherry notes begin sweetly, then slowly move into a more bitter mode, savory sherry and caramel notes emerge mid-palate with a dash of salt & pepper, then raspberry compote and oak tannins at the back. After dilution, the flavors become more bourbon barrel-driven, with wood sugar and savory sherry up front, with oak and malt layered on top further back, along with chocolate-covered raisins.

Finish: bittersweet sherry/raisin notes, slightly savory, peppery oak.

After the brilliance of the 18 Year, I approached this whisky with a bit of trepidation. It begins life as standard bourbon cask whisky, which is first transferred to ex-oloroso sherry casks for about a year, then finally to ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for about a year. And my first sniffs and sips kind of bore that out - where was the malt? It seemed like everything had been smothered under a heavy blanket of sherry. However, a few drops of water radically transformed the whisky, letting the malt shine on its own and emphasizing the savory aspects of oloroso sherry, which played very well with the bourbon barrel notes. While I usually prefer higher proof bottlings, this one might actually be better at 41-42%. That extra bit of water made it, at least to me, a significantly better dram. On the other hand, I do wonder what kind of a whisky this could be if it was made from a blend of bourbon barrel and sherry cask whiskies, rather than from bourbon barrel whisky finished in ex-sherry casks. That might let the lovely bourbon barrel character shine while playing nicer with the burley oloroso and PX sherry casks at a higher proof. The sherries can add some really wonderful layers to the whisky, but it seems like a shame to use too heavy a hand in putting them on.

It was really interesting to compare and contrast these whiskies with the other triple-distilled single malts I've had from Hazelburn. Salted caramels seem to be a common thread, which makes me curious to find out if it's a feature of triple distillation or just a coincidence. I have a bottle of BenRiach's experimental triple-distilled whisky, so I'll have to see if it has the same notes. Overall I really enjoyed these whiskies and I'm rather interested in trying some of their other expressions, especially higher proof bottlings like Valinch or the Bordeaux Cask.