PBMichiganWolverine
Auchentoshan 1997 21 Year Un-Chillfiltered Collection (Signatory) The Whisky Barrel
Single Malt — Lowlands , Scotland
Reviewed
July 14, 2019 (edited September 30, 2020)
I know it’s all personal tastes and opinions, but for me, Auchentoshans never really have personality. , I feel it needs to be older and exposed to a lot of stronger well made casks to truly shine. Like us, right? We’re a byproduct of all the women/men we’ve dated and the people we’ve interacted with deeply for an extended period of time. We sort of changed in our personality every time we were with someone with a strong personality, and took bits of that to our next stage in life. Hopefully the culmination of that is what make us today in our personality. Similarly, I feel as if Auchentoshan really shines when it’s fimished or matured in casks that are much stronger than its base personality. This one for example, was fully matured 21 yrs in a sherry cask. Then bottled NCF and CS. You take something like an Ardbeg and fully mature it for 21 yrs in sherry cask, you’ll either end up with a masterpiece or a disaster, from two strong vying personalities. But you take a light timid personality like Auchentoshan and expose it to something that make it stronger, I think you have a better outcome than the original.
Out of the few Auchentoshans I’ve had, the only one I’ve liked was a wine finished 26 yr old courtesy of @LeeEvolved . This one, I liked just as much—probably comes down to preference for sherry vs wine maturation / finish. Aroma is enticing...oranges and nuts. A bit floral. The palette is where it shines—-marzipan, orange zest, Christmas cake. Really well made.
And for $100..a steal.
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Interesting, and mostly relatable analogy. I guess in that vein, poor juice & cask aging/finishes are akin to dysfunctional relationships that ended in very bad breakups. Started off fine but somewhere along the way, things went horribly wrong. Nice rev!
@Soba45 I really think this one shines when it’s finished or matured in sherry or wine casks
Great review. It's a distillery I had written off but maybe worth another look sometime :-)
Sounds delightful! Putting it on my list.
@LeeEvolved I’m convinced enough to break my 1 or 2 pours a week by having that one this evening. Netflix Stranger Things with Bood Oak. Fitting enough.
Well, you may be in luck. In the last package I sent you I believe I included a pour of the TRE Auchentoshan Blood Oak. It’s similar to the 25yo red wine matured one I sent you that you spoke about, except this one isn’t fully matured there- just finished in red wine casks. Yeah, you can taste the youthful spirit, but it picked up quite a lot of the same characteristics of the 25yo- and it only costs $80. Please give that one a go while this is fresh in your mind- I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, I know I was. Cheers and great review, as usual, my friend.
@PBMichiganWolverine Many thanks. You are too kind.
@Scott_E saved a pour of the Del Maguey Arroqueno as well. If there’s one mezcal to have...that one is it.
@PBMichiganWolverine Thank you.
@Scott_E done—-I have basically a full bottle still.
@PBMichiganWolverine Not in the latest package. But, indeed, if you would be so kind and save me a pour. Thanks
@Rick_M yeah—two strong personalities. It’ll end up less than the sum of its parts.
@PBMichiganWolverine - you make a good point about the Ardbeg. At the Lagavulin distillery we tasted 5 different whiskies from 5yo to 35yo. They were all CS and matured exclusively in sherry. They were not that great. Without the bourbon barrel integration there was no magic.
@Rick_M that’s the point in life I remind them that with a flick of a keystroke, I can take away their mobile phones, internet, and grande mocha skim milk gluten free extra whipped latte. 😀
@Scott_E did I send you this in that latest package? If not, I’m saving you a pour. Hands down top 1 or 2 Auchentoshans I’ve had
@PBMichiganWolverine - where are you in life when you feel like cask strength, but your kids see you as 40% ABV? :) Nice review!
@PBMichiganWolverine Wonderful philosophical analogy. Never really stopped to think about whisky in the fashion you described. Very insightful sir. Now I need to find a pour of this. Great review as always.