Auchroisk meets tawny port cask for a 6 month secondary maturation. Interestingly, were the distillate from a better-known distillery, I daresay this would have sold out in a flash. But in this day and age underappreciated whiskies should certainly be appreciated (albeit quietly). 318 bottles at 54.9% ABV have been produced – you’ll still find some over at The Whisky Exchange for £68.95.
Nose: Raspberry jam is thinly spread over white bread whilst brandy snap biscuits join apple-filled stroopwafels. Berry oils and liquorice stick sit with a cream-filled sponge cake. Dilution reveals gingerbread and golden tobacco leaves alongside Cherrios multigrain cereal.
Taste: A big oil, berry-filled arrival. Lovely. Raspberries and cranberries sit with coffee and walnut cake slathered in caramel. Liquorice reveals itself again alongside dry dunnage earthiness, milk chocolate and hot house vinousness. Water retains the weight of the distillate offering dried berries, golden syrup and some dry oak tannins.
Finish: Quite long with resinous wine-like qualities (sticky red berries) together with a scattering of ginger powder.
A really likeable fruit-driven character throughout. Despite the tawny port finish only being 6 months – the level of required impact has been judged just right here. There’s always a temptation with secondary casks to keep pushing them to achieve the maximum level of extraction possible – but that’s invariably a mistake as there’s only so much wood contact that any spirit can handle before bitterness and grippiness become far more of a thing. Here we’re just on the right side of that tightrope.
Review sample provided by Watt Whisky.