Tastes

@work, so spitting Aroma: Herbal-oil and waxy, lemon, Palate: light fruit, tastes like it's under proof. Honeyed. Man, this would have been much better at 46%...

@work, so spitting... Nose: Sherried, flinty, smokey, tart citrus, almond. Slight salt and maybe some bacon fat working together to get to the "meaty" character? Palate: Much meatier on the palate, with a decent amount of smoke and spice. Cereal grains are just barely present in the background, with molasses in the foreground.

The nose seems crisp to me, with vanilla, malt sweetness, light smoke, and floral notes. The palate was a touch rounder, with the malt sweetness becoming a little more toffee like, more fruit (bananas) balanced out by a combination of smoke and sea salt. Not the home run the Islay Barley is, but still a solid offering, and a great introduction to the Bruichladdich style.

@DryHop. Herbal and molasses on the nose, kinda creamy with a touch of savoryness. Very light body. Palate is spicier and more herbal than expected, with molasses, corn and oak. $80 a bottle seems a little strong to me, personally. Fall 2013 bottling.

@ home, just a textbook American Rye. Big nose, I'm getting sweet spices, molasses, wood (both tannins and fresh cut,) cherry and citrus pith finishing with an herbal bitterness that reminds me a bit of quinine. All the flavors I'd expect on the palate are there too: pepper and baking spices, orange oil, rich rye grain in the mid palate. Fantastic.

@ work. Spitting. Nose is not as sweet and jammy as expected. More balanced and lighter nose, I'm getting smoke and pear, vanilla, iodine, melon and sweet citrus. The palate is light, I'm getting vanilla cake, light spice, sweet citrus, pear with floral and a light savory note. Light body. My favorite expression of Auchentoshan so far.