Auchroisk 10 Year Flora & Fauna

Vanilla nose with a spicy finish

Super light, sweet and warm

Nose: Lightly malty and rather like oatmeal. A touch of lemon. As it rests more and more maltiness emerges. Palate: Warming and sweet arrival, very much cereal based. Nutty, malty and a touch salty in the development, but it never loses the sweet cooked-cereal character. A very pleasant mouthfeel that is silken rather than creamy or oily. The texture is one of its best features. Finish: Medium long, malty and sweet. A touch of mild ginger spice but the lingering flavours are all reminiscent of ale. This is a highly malt-centered whisky, with an overall profile very much like a light ale. The nose is quite shy and you need to let it rest for a while before nosing or there will be little to note. It's a extremely drinkable whisky with no burn whatsoever - indeed, almost a watery character to the palate. Very agreeable and light, it's a good dram to relax with when you need to wind down. Initially I thought it was somewhat lacking but I was surprised how quickly I polished it off and wanted another taste. I tasted it from a 30ml sampler and I'm interested enough to find a bottle. The official tasting notes here seem somewhat at odds with my experience. I found the palate in particular to be soft and slightly sweet, and not dry, spicy or peppery at all. I also thought it to be superior to the nose, which is a little retiring. "Above Average" : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

In my journey through Scotland's distilleries I've come to be quite fond of the Flora and Fauna bottlings. Nothing fancy or mind blowing but good solid work horses that at the end of a long hard day you crack open and enjoy. Not all are perfect but this one is another decent example. Nice biscuity, malted barley and honeyed viscosity. Bit of bitterness on the after taste mars it. 3.5 rounding up to 4 on VFM.

Softly. young, fresh. Medium sweet. 若いフレッシュモルトの香りと仄かに柔らかい甘さ。新緑よりは少し湿り気を帯びた香り。