My first Auchentoshan in a very long while. I’ve not been giving this distillery much attention for a plethora of reasons. First, there isn’t that much happening until recently when they released 4 (I think) new bottlings for travel retail. Second, I’ve got a couple of bottles here that have been here from long before I started this wee blog. Third, I think they’re not as good as Rosebank, which is my favourite Lowlands distillery. That means I try more Rosebanks than Auchentoshan. Mark will hate me for this.

Nose:
Very grainy like those crunchy breakfast cereals by Quaker’s, with some added white sugar (as in Dutch: bastard sugar…). It also has a typical Lowlands style with some straw and dried flowers. Some lemon zest, basil and rosewater later on, but all has a tiny undertone of cardboard.

Taste:
Pretty sharp with grass and some heather. It’s quite hot, but not peppery for a change. There is a little bit of a greasy feel to it as well, which I didn’t expect. Later on, the typical Lowlands-ness kicks in. Light vanilla, lemon, grass, coconut. A little better than the nose.

Finish:
All of a sudden I get candied orange parts. A very nice surprise! Apart from that, it didn’t do much for me. I can just rewrite everything I got on the palate, but I won’t do that.

It’s a bit of a strange one, this. It has its moments, but it just didn’t do it for me. It might be better with a bit more age to it (like the Auchentoshan 16 Bourbon Matured). There are some flavours which are very enjoyable, but it’s not a dram that will soar to your top-whatever list. A bit too middle of the road for me.

Auchentoshan 11, 03-1999, SMWS, 5.29 ‘Freesias crushed by an escaping car’, 2nd Fill hogshead, 60.6%, available for € 76 at the SMWS.