Weekend Briefs Aug. 2022: An Auchroisk Trilogy
A round-up of brief reviews from a recent weekend! This time I have a set focused on a single distillery: Auchroisk. A distillery whose name, assuming you are not Scottish or well-versed in distillery pronunciation, you will undoubtedly have butchered— as I have many, many times. The 2022 Malt Whisky Yearbook gives the pronunciation as [Ar-thrusk], which at least points in a direction that sounds closer to what you might hear from a Scot.
I have written before that I find the distillery to be a bit milquetoast. It can be creamy with a beautiful mouthfeel but often feels like a blank slate with hints of more herbal or fruity undertones ready to come out when blended with another malt. I can readily see why blenders prize the malt for its ability to thicken the mouthfeel without overriding other flavor elements. The distillery is substantial, one of the largest in Scotland, ranking 16th in theoretical capacity in the 2022 Yearbook. So it is hardly a surprise that Diageo maintains a blending facility on the campus.
Yet, some people love Auchroisk as is. I am not sure how many of them are out there, but a good friend turned out to be a closet Auchroisk-Stan. To further my Auchroisk education and better understand why my buddy loves the distillery so much, here is a trilogy of Auchroisk reviews. The first and last are bottles from SMWS finished in 2nd fill charred red wine barriques. The second review is a bottle I own from independent bottler Morrison & MacKay, the first and only Auchroisk I ever purchased.
It turns out that red wine finishes have grown on me a little, though sadly, the M&M Auchroisk remained a bit of a hot mess. On to the reviews!
Whisky: Auchroisk 13 Year (2006) 58.1% 2nd Fill Charred Red Wine Barrique, SMWS 95.33 “Full-bodied with a tannic grip”
Nose: Fruity and vibrant, moon drop grapes, strawberry guava, Lingonberry jam, cigar box, mixed berry jelly, condensed milk, tapioca pudding.
Palate: Medium to full-bodied, balanced mouthfeel, black currants, cassis, hints of vanilla, guava, and cream. Bubblegum, cigar box, and cinnamon toward the end. With water tropical florals joined the fruit with stronger vanilla and tapioca pudding.
Finish: Medium-length with fruity bubble gum and cigar box.
Score: 6+
Commentary: I am naturally suspicious of any wine finish on a young malt— it is not my favorite style, and a part of me always whispers, “what are they hiding under that wine?” However, on occasion, it works well and elevates the natural tendencies of the malt. The fact that this was a second fill charred red wine barrique and not a heavy-handed smaller first fill cask meant that the wine played more of a supporting role than it would have otherwise. Considering that Auchroisk often occurs to me as a sort of creamy sweet blank slate malt, the wine filled the role as co-star without ever feeling as though it was attempting to grab the spotlight alone.
Though this was a bit hot on the nose and the palate, it was still enjoyable. A few drops of water brought balance and cooled off the mouthfeel while elevating the latent tropical vibes and creamy pudding notes of the whisky. Overall, surprisingly enjoyable!
Whisky: Auchroisk 15 Year (2003) 57% Bourbon Barrel, Morrison & MacKay Càrn Mòr
Nose: Wood, oaky spices, ginger, weathered white oak, cream, vanilla, herbal hints with occasional eucalyptus; with time sour oak, sawdust, clotted cream.
Palate: Medium-bodied, herbal, cream, mint, rosebud, eucalyptus, orange peel, stale tobacco, sour oak, preserved lemons, bergamot, black tea, lipstick.
Finish: Medium-length with oak, herbal spice, and floral notes.
Score: 4
Commentary: Once upon a time, I bought this bottle to fill up a package— I had never tried anything from the distillery, but I thought the age sounded nice, and I had heard good things about Morrison & MacKay. I wish I could say this was the only bottle in that shipment, or from Morrison & MacKay, that disappointed me, but it was not. I even brought it to a tasting so our local Auchroisk-Stan could give it a try and render judgment— perhaps even adopt the misfit bottle from me. Yet he declared it not worthy of the name Auchroisk, shrugged, and mused that maybe his favorite distillery could occasionally produce something not to his taste.
The bottle is not very exciting, though it has an intriguingly odd sourness with the sort of rotten oak note uncommon in contemporary whisky production. There is a nice floral-eucalyptus element on the palate that I do, in fact, really enjoy, but getting there is a bit of a chore. I also suspect, with some certainty, that that same note would appear soapy to some. All in all, this was not my worst whisky buying mistake, but it makes the top ten list.
Whisky: Auchroisk 7 Year (2012) 60.9% 2nd Fill Charred Red Wine Barrique, SMWS 95.44 “Something to mull over”
Nose: Floral, jasmine, coffee, cafe au lait, chicory, peppercorns, blood orange, varnished wood, hints of dried berries, chocolate, and caramel.
Palate: Medium to full-bodied, sweet toffee, a kiss of salt, cinnamon, pepper, dark chocolate, hints of mint and dried berries, cafe au lait, bitter orange, varnished wood, leather at the end.
Finish: Medium to long with dried berries, cinnamon biscuits, and coffee.
Score: 6
Commentary: While the prior SMWS Auchroisk on the list had only the briefest of finishes in a red wine cask, this spent about half its life in red wine oak. Between the two, I thought the slightly older malt had better integration and a more balanced flavor profile. However, this had a lovely kick in the teeth as it bounced energetically between sweet spice and rich coffee or chocolate. At seven years, I did not expect quite so much complexity, and I wonder if age would have helped further develop some of those interesting teases; or, left the dram a tannic mess. A tad hot at times, water balanced the mouthfeel and brought out more caramel and chocolate.
Overall, I am not close to admitting this is my jam— but I think I have a better appreciation for Auchroisk, especially the way it pairs with red wine casks. I liked this a hair more than the lot of sibling casks I have tried, and, since there have been several, I assume there might be more to come in the future.
