Country: Scotland
Region: Lowland
Brand: Auchentoshan
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 10 Years
ABV: 40 %
Colour: Yellow Golden
Nose: It's not really bad but I can't say I like the Nose. It' s a rather weird combination of Cooked Vegetables, Malt, Vegetable Oil, Floral tones like Grass and Wet Leaves, Acetone, Tangerine, Lemon, Stale Peanuts, Wood (Shavings), Buttered Grain Biscuits and some Sherry, Apples, Alcohol, Vanilla and light Spices.
Taste: Slightly Watery Delivery with Malt, Sweet Candies, Tangerine, Licorice, Wood, Lemon, Sherry, Cinnamon and White Pepper.
Finish: Short with Sugary Malt, Vanilla, White Pepper, Sherry, Honey and Lemon. It's a bit perfumy but not the likes of Chanel # 5 I'm afraid.
I added a few drops of Water and the Nose gets more Malty and Buttery. This dram already has a watery profile so Palate and Finish do not benefit in my opinion. But if you like you can try out a few drops at the time and see where it leads you.
Rating: 76
Nose: 18.5 - Taste: 19.5 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19
General Remarks: As you will probably know, Auchentoshan (Gaelic for Corner of the Field) is triple-distilled like Irish Whiskey. The idea is to produce a smooth dram. But most of the time this process also invokes some lack of personality and that's certainly the case here. It's priced at around 60 US Dollars on average. In 2008 the 10 Years was replaced by the 12 Years when Auchentoshan reviewed its line and packaging. You can find the Tasting Notes here: Auchentoshan 12. I think it's slightly better than the 10 but also not too impressive for a Single Malt. It is a bit cheaper on average at around 50 US Dollars.
Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good
Conclusion: Auchentoshan is not one of my favourite Distilleries. I'm not too impressed with the somewhat unbalanced flavour profile of the standard whiskies and their lack of personality. The 18 Years is the best I've tasted so far Auchentoshan 18 although it still has its flaws. The 10 Years old I've tasted today is easily the weakest so far. The Nose is a strange mixture of on- and off notes and the Palate is watery and does not show any depth. Oh Well, can't love them all!
Jan van den Ende January 7, 2013
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