Review #69: Auchroisk 22yr 1990/2013, Whisky-Fässle, 49.8% abv, sherry cask

how is this pronounced anyway?

I've done some research, and I think it's "oth-ROOOSK." Reviews of some independent botttlings have popped up recently, but not this one, I think.

Nose starts off solventy, and stays a little grassy-varnishy. Some interesting spices -- cinnamon and anise -- mixed with soup stock, and some creamy orange. Pepper and oak. Some wet rocks and dusty old library books. The individual notes are faint against the malty-woody-grassy-fruit, which is fortunate after all. (Spicy creamy orange soup stock would be terrible.) It becomes more candied over time -- honey and almonds. (It takes a while.)

Wow, the palate has a much more mentholated/tonic feel to it than I expected. Otherwise it's pleasantly sweet and oily, starting on candied fruit and ending up sort of meaty. Finish is nice, but a little more mentholated than I'd like.

This is nice. Whatever sherry influence there is/was gives it complexity instead of big flavors, and that complexity is well-integrated with the malt.


score: 86