I like to follow a theme for whisky tastings and posts. The obvious theme is to compare bottlings from a particular distillery, or how different distilleries turn out in similar casks, etc. But every once in a while I just want to try some random stuff. Then I have to get creative with the thematicification.
And so I proudly present to you: “Distilleries that start with an A”.
Coincidentally, I happened to have three samples that I hadn’t assigned for any upcoming theme, and they are of similar age (23-24yo) and ABV (~50%) so actually quite comparable. They’re from Auchroisk (Speyside), Auchentoshan (Lowland), and Ardmore (Speyside). The question then is: what range of quality can we observe from three different spirits spending over two decades in a cask?
I felt compelled by the beautiful weather to sit outside, not minding the cool spring air although this is not quite ideal for nose performance.
Whisky review
Auchroisk 24yo 1994 48.3% Douglas Laing
Single Cask • Refill Hogshead
25ml sample bottle for £7,50
⚡Experience
The nose is fresh and crisp: green apples and lemon. White wine, cantaloup melon, cake icing, ever so slightly chlorine. On the palate: dry, bitter, wood-spicy, with a puff of smoke (not peat), tonic water and some herbal notes (going back to the nose I now detect some heather). The finish lingers long, and returns more to the fruity promise of the nose.
⚖️Verdict
On the whole a bit of a let down. The nose is good, but not fantastic, and the palate quite austere and not really conveying a compelling idea of what it wants to achieve. For a 24 year maturation I expect so much more.
✔️Decent
One can still buy this bottle for €150 in the EU, which I believe is about what it would’ve costed at launch. Just don’t. Next!
Whisky review
Auchentoshan 24yo bott. 2015 50.3% Original Bottling
2cl sample bottle for €7,90
⚡Experience
The nose is shy. Gently sherry, some orange and peach, cardamom buns, oak. The flavour is grassy, cardboardy, and ‘flat’; slightly bitter in taste. Something is amiss! The finish is the most convincing aspect, generic but clean and with apricot.
⚖️Verdict
I do believe we have a sample bottle that has been spoilt. Indeed, it might have been filled as long as 8 years ago. The screw top looked well sealed, but I cannot now how it was stored.
❓Inconclusive
A right shame, because looking at the reviews online this should’ve been a fine bottle. (Well, for the €200 bottle price anything else would be outrageous.)
I have long planned to do a thorough analysis of what causes certain sample bottles so sometimes cause cardboard-y notes and to ‘flatten’ the taste—oxidation? contact with the plastic cap liner? Now I am even more motivated, so watch out for a post on this. I’m a little afraid that some quite expensive and luxurious samples I’ve bought recently might be similarly spoilt. We shall see.
Moving on to final Act of the “A” play, the ever-peaty Ardmore:
Whisky review
Ardmore 23yo 1998 47.9% Elixir Distillers
Single Cask #750784
3cl sample bottle from advent calendar
⚡Experience
Light peat on the nose, as a backdrop for tropical fruit, candy cane, vanilla, mineral, and pickled meat. The peat is heavier on the palate, and a tad ‘dirty’. Otherwise flavours go along the lines of the nose. Nice smoke and sweetness in the finish; a bit of rubber as I return to the nose one last time.
⚖️Verdict
This is a well-rounded whisky, although the peat profile doesn’t entirely speak to my preferences.
⭐Notable Quality
This was yet another sample from the advent calendar, so no full bottle from this particular cask was released. But bottles from presumable sister casks sell at German retailers for around €200. Yikes!
(By the way, I should mention that I went inside eventually to finish the drams and make sure I wasn’t misrepresenting them by sitting outside. Aromas where a bit more noticeable indoors with the whiskies warmed up but my impressions didn’t change much.)
So the curtains close. With such experienced actors, I was hoping to be moved to tears. Disappointingly, I was not. Maybe the “B” sequel will make up for it? I do have some 25yo Bowmore and 25yo Bunnahabhain in stock…
DuckDrams 
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