Auchroisk 10 Year (Gordon and MacPhail Discovery)

Gordon and MacPhail, Elgin, Shop Tasting, 4th May 2024, whisky #1 Nose: Fruity (citrus juice, citrus peel, pineapple), vanilla, mild spices. Over time the pineapple note becomes more noticeable. Palate: Overall the palate is fruity, light and slightly spicy. Sweet lemon and grapefruit in the arrival, morphing into orange, pineapple and mango as it develops. There is a touch of youthful oak, a little white pepper and some ginger and cinnamon. The texture is OK but nothing special. Finish: Short. Fruitiness and oak notes plus a cereal flavor that did not appear in the initial taste. A solid, straightforward fruity whisky that has no objectionable faults but neither does it have a great deal of depth, engagement or persistence. Adding water wrought no real change. The finish lengthened slightly but no previously hidden aromas or flavours emerged. This single malt is typical of Gordon and MacPhail's introductory "Discovery" range of single malts, but it's both the youngest and least interesting one I have tasted. Like all the others in the range it is competent, sippable and versatile. At the price point it is competing against more interesting single malts so its value for money as a sipping dram is marginal. However it does also compare favourably against similarly priced blended scotches so it is worth considering for its value just as a mixer. I feel I'm being a little generous with rating this at 81/100 when in many ways it is such an average malt, but the quality of distillation and maturation is undeniable so it just barely warrants that score. “Above Average (just)” : 81/100 (3 stars)