Auchroisk 1993 Connoisseurs Choice
I thought it was about time to put a somewhat less known distillery under the loop, and (quite at random) decided to go for Auchroisk. Never heard of them? Good, good! I tried to find some history on them but came up with an unsatisfying amount; the distillery was founded in 1972 (I believe) and production began in 1974 (I know), with most of their whisky going into J&B and a small share bottled as ‘The Singleton’ (not of dufftown), apparently due to Auchroisk being difficult to pronounce (Athrusk).
Fascinating, no? Yeah… I didn’t really think so either, so let’s move on to the bottle. The 1993 Connoisseurs Choice expression which I’m taking a look at today is bottled by Gordon & Macphail, and will set you back about $45-50. It pours a very white wine type colour which suits my mood today perfectly, and as such I will go ahead and give it full marks for appearance. The nose is quite floral, including heather, along with some honey, apricot, a bit of vanilla and… malt? Yeah, malt, I think – my nose is a bit stuffed today, but I’m pretty sure that’s it. Quite a calm and well behaved nose, it’s not too aggressive but not cowering in the corner either.
The palate is sweet and quite fruity, with a fair bit of cereal, some malt, just a touch of nuttiness and a slight sea-water saltiness that you wouldn’t expect from the nose – it’s very mild, though. Not terribly exciting, but not boring either. Overall I’d say this is a quite standard malt, nothing that sticks out, highly drinkable, and it shouldn’t offend anyone. A safe bet for pretty much any occasion, but not suitable for snobbery.
Personally (what other than my personal opinion you would expect to find here I don’t know, but still) I think it’s a bit pricey for what you get, which feels rather silly to say since it’s not that expensive, but I’d be more prone to recommend it if it was around the $35 mark. Then again, some of you may think it’s worth an extra $10 to get a whisky that not everyone will have in their cupboard, in which case you shouldn’t be disappointed – just don’t expect a mouthgasm.
Eye: White wine.
Nose: Floral, heather, honey, apricot, vanilla, malt (?).
Mouth: Sweet, fruity, cereal, malt, touch of nuttiness, slight sea-water.
Want to buy this whisky? Available in: UK & World (click)