CaskAid is a Belgium NPO that sells independently bottled whisky for charity. That sounds like a good way of raising money to me, and when combined with Archives, we should be in for some good stuff!

Archives is the independent bottling line from Whiskybase, and have been on quite a roll lately. Over the last couple of months I think there are more releases than there are months going by, so keeping up is challenging (and not happening any more for me…).

Glentauchers is a whisky distillery in Scotland’s Speyside, and one with many faces. Most of their outturn goes into blends as far as I know, and when there’s a single malt bottled you never really know what you’re going to get until you try it. So, let’s do exactly that!

Sniff:
This is a rich dram, and a much more complex dram than I expected from Glentauchers. Then again, it’s Archives… A slightly dry nose with a hint of vanilla behind the oak and the straw. Melba toast, oven baked sesame seeds. Dried apple skins.

Sip:
The palate is pretty strong for a sub-fifty percent ABV. Luckily, it mellows quickly. Quite a woody dram, with oak shavings and sawdust. Dried apple skins too, so all in all there’s definitely some bitterness. A pound cake’s crust too.

Swallow:
The finish is dry with the same bitterness as before, but rather gentle. Not very long, but it’s nice with that dry fruity note.

If I’d bought a bottle of this, I’d not regret it. There’s some flavors to discover and it has a nice age to it. And, I love these balanced bitter notes.

87/100