LeeEvolved
Auchentoshan American Oak
Single Malt — Lowlands, Scotland
Reviewed
July 28, 2016 (edited May 4, 2019)
It's time to kick off the third wave of samples from our Scotch trade team. This one was supplied by my friend Ryan, and it continues the theme he established back in the very beginning: scotch that is similar to bourbon. This one strays a bit from that line, but the heavy vanilla and oak notes fall right in line.
The smell is very inviting- soothing vanilla, lots of soft floral notes and a hint of herbal citrus. The taste is very oaky. Lots and lots of oak. Not too harsh. There is the typical lowland-style delicacy in place here, though.
The palate is very lightly charred oak spice with just the right amount of cinnamon and heat. It's delightfully smooth through the entire sip, while the finish is pretty short.
It's solid. It's light. It's ridiculously drinkable. It's a great pre-dinner dram on a warm, late summer evening. I'd even enjoy this one as a kick starter to a tasting event. Thanks, Ryan. 3.5 stars. Cheers.
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Auchentoshan is one of the distilleries I have a particular interest in. I visited them in April this year and tasted some really great drams (1981 vintage from the cask). However, when it comes to official bottlings, 'American Oak' is probably the weakest whisky in their core range. Low ABV, chill filtration and artificial coloring is quite an issue here. I do recommend independent bottlings of Auchentoshan, in particular Cadenhead, as well as Distillery-only offerings (difficult to find, I know). The best official bottlings are the 21-year-old Auchentoshan and the (discontinued) Solera at 48% ABV. Cheers!
I'm eager to try this one as it will be my first lowland single malt. Nice review
I posted an update to this review after we added it to our scotch trade group. I originally tried this malt back in January of 2016.