Nearly the end of the first week and we have had some highlights. Those have been at the start of the week and I must say the end of the week has been a slog. Hopefully week two will have better things but until then lets get on with the show.

The Distillery

Auchroisk is a distillery I haven’t reviewed before. This distillery was built in the 1970’s and is at last an attractive modern building. The 1960’s seem to be blighted by modernist buildings which have not aged well but I think Auchroisk is still quite attractive.

Located in Banff in Speyside Auchroisk was aways meant to be a blending resource. The new make is heavy and doughy but the matured whisky has a cereal honeyed character. This are important characteristics for the blending portfolio of Diageo but actually Auchroisk has had single malt releases officially since before I was born.

The Dram

This batch is batch 7 and yep its not available. If you could get it though it was 47.9% ABV and matured for 12 years before bottling into 50cl bottles. Those 50cl bottles are quite annoying I suppose if you are enjoying a bottle and don’t want it to end. A welcome relief though if your purchase hasn’t quite worked out.

Tasting Notes

Colour – yellow for sure but maybe a yellow-white if it was a Dulux paint code.

Nose – oft a heavy nose of prunes and dough. New baking and heat from chilli. New make which is interesting then.

Palate – waxy and chewy with a savoury funky note almost like cheese puffs

Finish – Medium finish and full of prickles from chilli’s but its not all spice heat. There is more of the prune juice as well.

Final Thoughts

More refill casks used to mature whisky and keep the spirit character. I would say these last few days haven’t been whisky which is good enough to stand alone as a single cask. Its more filler material for blends than top dressing or central stage material. This Auchroisk is slightly different though. The distinctive and malty spirit is actually novel and interesting in its own right. For that reason alone it was a decent dram to taste.