Auchroisk 26 Year (1996), Single Cask Nation “Wood Cut #4”
Whisky: Auchroisk 26 Year (1996), Single Cask Nation “Wood Cut #4”
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 55%
Cask: 2nd Fill Hogshead (21Y), Caroni Rum Cask
Age: 26 Years (Distilled Aug. 1996, Bottled Aug. 2022)
Nose: Orange and ginger, limoncello, honey, tobacco, sawdust, engine grease, antiseptics, olive oil, pepper, subtle cream.
Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, fruity, hint of salt, honey, tropical, subtle tobacco, musty tropical vegetation, oak, rubber floor mats. With water, more hibiscus and green mango.
Finish: Medium-length and spicy with pepper, earth, and subtle honey.
Score: 6-7
Mental Image: Lumberyard Luau
Narrative & Notes: The aroma was initially spicy and sweet, with tangy orange marmalade, candied ginger stems, homemade limoncello, and honey. Tobacco and sawdust, almost sandalwood at times, sat a bit further in with engine grease and industrial cleaning products. Olive oil brought the aroma back around to something pleasantly nutty with pepper and a subtle fatty cream. Medium-bodied and oily, the flavor profile started quite fruity and ended with a musty herbal, earthy quality. Orange and tangerines hit first with hints of dried mango, while salt, honey, and sweet chili pepper were slower to develop. Subtle tobacco arrived later with musty tropical vegetation, dry earth, subtle plumeria, sawdust, curing white oak, and dirty rubber floor mats. Medium-length and spicy, the finish featured pepper, earth, and subtle honey.
My first impression was surprise as the malt felt feistier and more spirited than I expected considering the age and abv., but it mellowed nicely as I revisited it. I enjoyed it most when engine grease or dirty shop rags arrived with hints of pool chemicals alongside fruit or olive oil; the aroma was incredibly summery and fresh in those moments. The occasional antiseptic and almost acrid diversion toward industrial cleaning products often included more cracked black pepper or white pepper powder. The more typical vanilla, grass, or creamy elements of the malt were present but at a more reserved level.
The palate pulled back slightly from some of those almost industrial notes and featured more fruit and tropical vibes with a lovely oily texture. A few drops of water helped to cool the malt, though a spirited pepper remained at the end unless I drowned the whisky. I thought water did overall improve the experience as more herbal tea, hibiscus, and green mango appeared on the palate, while sweet honey and ginger became a stronger through-line on the nose.
Overall, an interesting whisky, though not one I would gravitate toward. I have only limited experience with Caroni, a famed ghost rum distillery, but I could pick out its influence from time to time, especially with some of the more industrial elements.
