Auchroisk 37 Year (1982), Thompson Brothers
Whisky: Auchroisk 37 Year (1982), Thompson Brothers
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 48.3%
Cask: Refill Sherry
Age: 37 Year (Distilled 1982, Bottled 2022)
Nose: Fruity and mellow, candied lemon peel, star fruit, kiwi, vanilla pods, subtle earthy florals, brown sugar pastry.
Palate: Light-bodied, tropical fruits, star fruit, Szechuan peppercorns, dissolved limestone, earthy, mountain guava, herbal-floral at the end.
Finish: Very long with lingering tropical sliced fruits and earth.
Score: 8
Mental Image: Fautaua Valley
Narrative & Notes: Sublime— fruity and mellow, the nose took me on a hike to the heights in Fautaua Valley— the site of the last battle of the Franco-Tahitian War in 1848. Snacks for the hike included lemon peel gummy bears, star fruit, golden kiwis, brown sugar buns, and a vanilla-infused tea. Hints of hibiscus and tiare floated in the background with earthy floral notes of tropical forest, soil, and dissolved minerals. Light-bodied but packed full of tropical vibes that slowly unrolled over the course of a long tasting. The wife called out mushrooms as a pronounced earthiness ran throughout with rich tropical humus, dissolved limestone, and moss. Tropical fruits arrived in waves, star fruit at first, tingling Szechuan peppercorns, and then mountain guava and sweet pineapple toward the end. The earthy-mineral and herbal notes faded to leave behind chopped fresh fruits on the finish.
In a blind tasting, I am sure I would have thought this was Arran between the tropical vibes and underlying earthy minerality. The floral teases, more potent on the nose than the palate, carried me straight to Tahiti and memories of hiking interior forests. I would never have thought this was Auchroisk— it was interesting, varied, complex, and well-integrated. Not that Auchroisk cannot be those things, but it rarely is all of them all at once. I do wish the mouthfeel had a bit more weight to it, and some of the tropical vibes never really shook out as distinct notes. Those are minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things though, and did not distract from my enjoyment of the whisky, though they account for why I did not score it higher.
Overall, this was pretty stunning stuff from Auchroisk and Thompson Brothers. Artwork courtesy of my wife, who decided to put her tasting notes in watercolor form.
