Auchentoshan 20 yo Whisky Craft Season Two

 

 

 

55,1°

Distillery : Auchentoshan - Lowlands

2d Fill Hogshead 

Independent Bottling 

By Whisky Craft

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Whisky Craft is a very young Scottish bottler that came into being just this year. They are now on their fifth bottling, an Auchentoshan that spent 20 years in a second-fill hogshead, yielding 225 bottles. The distillation date has not been disclosed, but it is definitely a single cask, most likely cask strength, included in the company's second release, called Season Two.

Let's Taste It : 

It is fresh and lemony, with salty and mineral notes that give it character, chalk, gypsum, limestone. But very quickly, juicy fruits come through, Williams pear, mirabelle plum, and cotton candy, strawberry chewing gum, with a lovely caramel coulis and pastry cream. On the palate, grapefruit and mountain honey, orange zest and ripe banana. The spices are very subtle. On the finish, shortbread dough, a pinch of salt, then it becomes herbaceous, mint, sage, reeds. A very light peppery touch, oak leaf, walnut.

 

In Short, 

I am still unfamiliar with this distillery, but I have been told that it fits the profile of a very good Auchentoshan perfectly, and I am inclined to believe it. I enjoyed the fruit, citrus and cotton candy notes, but what surprised me most was the mineral character that gives it such a distinctive personality. This is definitely a whisky worth exploring, and it offers very good value for money. A bottler to keep an eye on.

Score : 89 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                           Röyksopp - Stay Awhile

Auchentoshan 12 yo

 

 

 

40°

Distillery : Auchentoshan - Lowlands

Refill American Oak Bourbon Barrels and Oloroso Sherry Casks

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2008

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

In fact, the first bottles of Auchentoshan 12 Year Old date back to the 1980s. But the alcohol content varies and it's probably not always the same recipe. The 12-year-old as it is sold today was apparently launched in 2008, and is the result of a blend of Bourbon Barrels and Sherry Casks. It has been distilled three times, like everything else from this distillery. It really is the flagship of the Lowlands.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

On the nose, it's soft and delicate, but indulgent: custard, crème caramel, buttery vanilla, pulpy white grapes, reines-claudes and yellow apples, lemony fragrances, grapefruit and tangerine, sponge cake. On the palate, there's more lime and acidic pear, with a few spices, cloves and pepper, liquid honey and fresh cream. The finish is rather well done, but light, with chocolate and cola, woody spices, puffed rice, ginger and hazelnuts. Crushed almonds, sultanas.

 

In Short, 

It's well done, I was expecting something light, and it is, but with a real consistency. It's easy to drink and glides along on its own. It's not my favourite profile, and I think it's a bit expensive for what it is, but who am I to judge?

Score : 82

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           English Teacher - Albert Road

Auchentoshan 11 yo Cadenhead Original Collection

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Auchentoshan - Lowlands

Bourbon Casks 

Independent Bottling 

By William Cadenhead Limited

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The Original Collection range was launched in the 1980s and brings together reduced bottlings, which are blends and not Single Casks. It is therefore the low end of the Cadenhead portfolio, since all the others are at least cask strength. That said, it is not chill-filtered, contains no colouring and is bottled in Scotland, that is good enough. This is an 11-year-old Auchentoshan aged in bourbon casks. We do not know the number of bottles produced.

Let's Taste It : 

Very woody nose, with wax and lemon, pomade, it's dynamic, ethereal, evanescent, a cloud of iodine, white fruits, liquid honey. Apple compote, with a pinch of cinnamon. The palate is a bit light, but very smooth, mellow, gentle, more vanilla and pastry cream, but without being really sweet, it's all nuanced, subtle, fluid. No spices, so to speak. The finish is well made, like biting into a slice of genoise, long, with tinder, nutmeg and heather. A grape. Sandy beach.

 

In Short, 

Typical of the Lowlands, light, airy, unctuous, some like it, and I have to admit that it's very well done. It's not really my thing, I prefer whiskies with character, but I'm glad I tasted this one, it represents the region, and it's still pleasant. The price is reasonable if you're careful, and I think you can be tempted if you're an enthusiast.

Score : 87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Lestened While Sipping :

  

                                           Fin del Mondo - El Incendio

Auchentoshan 2007 Artist Collective N. 5.6 13 yo

 

 

 

48° 

Distillery : Auchentoshan - Lowlands 

1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt 

Independent Bottling 

By La Maison du Whisky

Limited Edition

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The last bottling from Batch 5 of the Artist Collective range launched in 2017 by La Maison du Whisky is also the oldest. It is a 13-year-old Auchentoshan, aged in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks. The label features an original painting by Theo Guignard, entitled 'Aquarelle'.

Let's Taste It :

Right away, the Sherry rises to the nose, thick and heavy with fermented fruits, raspberry compote, gooseberry jelly, thick depth of wood, with a hint of charcoal. There's also the floral and woody delicacy that is the distillery's hallmark, but it's very discreet. The whole is nevertheless complex. The palate is decent, with fruits, both red and orchard fruits, pear, sour apple, but also blackcurrants and blackberries. The finish is mainly wood and heather, with a note of cherry.

 

In Short, 

To be honest, this was the only bottle that disappointed me a bit in this batch of 6. I found the sherry to be very overpowering, and to hide the distillery's hallmarks. I like sherry, but this was too much. What's more, the price is really crazy for a reduced 13 year old which is not a Single Cask.

Score : 86

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Lo Moon - Loveless