Auchroisk 19 Year Old 1990 Single Cask 95.13 Afternoon Tea In A Patisserie Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2009) 75cl
1 of 287 bottles produced
An early Auchroisk from SMWS and not many are bottled in comparison to others.
This was only released in USA so a little more whisky at 75cl instead of 70cl.
It is such a delight to see some of the really early editions of the SMWS single cask bottlings. Even better to drink them!
Tasting Notes
Nose : This bottling begins neat with a slightly alcoholic impression and is somewhat reserved. However, it quickly develops towards light vanilla, pear, a hint of apple, and a hint of nuttiness. The longer the malt is allowed to breathe in the air, the more rounded the aroma becomes, reminiscent of old rum, dried fruit, licorice, and blackberries. Very complex.
Diluted, the aroma also offers notes of rum, plums, and spicy, delicious dried fruit combined with vanilla. A lovely, delicious, "old nose."
Palate : Without added water, the taste impression is dry, followed by malty sweetness, blackberries, and more vanilla. The body is medium-complex.
With water, the palate also enhances, offering vanilla, malty sweetness, blackberries, and more dried fruit, all in a beautiful interplay. It opens up and the body becomes fuller.
Finish : The finish is medium-long and offers more blackberry notes, sweetness, and vanilla with a light tannin touch and a spicy wood note.
Even with water, the finish remains consistent.
About Auchroisk
Auchroisk [pronounced Orth-rusk] is one of Diageo’s ‘nutty-spicy’ sites.
Here the heavy character is produced by rapid mashing, quick fermentation and, in the wash stills, a rapid boiling regime which almost cooks the solids and allows controlled carryover of some solids. This almost singed character [shared with Blair Athol] is most obvious at new make but recedes with maturation, being replaced by a balanced honeyed cereal sweetness.
The building of Auchroisk in 1972 was meant to herald the start of a new era for blended Scotch. Certainly architecturally (like its contemporary, Allt-a-Bhainne) it stands out – a white, harled, modernist structure in the moorland. It was commissioned by IDV, at that time the parent firm of J&B which had decided that sales of the blend justified another distillery being built to join its Speyside portfolio of Glen Spey, Knockando and Strathmill.
Auchroisk was first bottled as single malt in 1986 and was the first to carry the prefix ‘Singleton’, a name now attached to single malts from Glen Ord, Glendullan and Dufftown. Although highly regarded by writers and judges in its time, it never quite made the leap from cult to major brand. Interestingly, the maturation process involved decanting 10-year-old ex-Bourbon matured whisky into ex-Sherry casks for a further two years of secondary maturation, making it the first example of finishing, but IDV never thought of talking up the process, leaving Balvenie and Glenmorangie to be regarded as the pioneers of the technique. The brand was dropped in 2001 and has subsequently quietly slipped back into the shadows.
Although somewhat remote, the large tracts of land surrounding the distillery make this the ideal site for one of Diageo’s main northern warehousing complexes.
58.4% ABV
75cl
