It's been six months since my last post and it's good to be back. Now where were we?
Auchentoshan American Oak was the first bottle from my scavenger hunt list I came across. Gone was the age-statement (as is quickly becoming the norm), and I couldn't resist the opportunity to taste an elusive Lowland malt on sale for less than $40. The bottle sat unopened through 40 days of Lent, and was finally ceremoniously corked amid palpable anticipation.
Chances are good when you see something advertised as being perfect for people who 'don't normally like [fill in the blank]', those of us who really do like [it] are going to have the opposite reaction. Fill in that blank with the word 'scotch', and pour yourself a dram of Auchentoshan (OCK-en-TOSH-un). You'll soon see what I mean.
I readily concede the long lead-up may have contributed to my disappointment. Were The Phantom Menace or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls the worst movies ever? In retrospect, probably not. But when two beloved movie franchises from your childhood attempt to recapture their magic decades later, you build up lofty expectations. Of course, this analogy is blatantly hyperbolic when applied to drinking scotch after an 8 week self-imposed layoff, but you get it, right? Oh, please don't let Goonies 2 happen!
Currently, there are only two Lowland distilleries actively releasing single malts, Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan. Bladnoch was shut down last year as a foreclosure property, and although it was recently purchased by an Australian yogurt mogul, its stills have stayed dormant. The biggest shame of that is Bladnoch was the closest thing there was to a 'school' for prospective whisky distillers. Meanwhile, Ailsa Bay, Annandale, and Daftmill have begun distilling, but have yet to release any bottlings to the public.
Unlike Speyside, Highland, or Islay malts, we don't have a lot of examples on which to base a flavor profile. We've already tried Glenkinchie 12, "the Edinburgh malt", the grassy lightness of which best suits it to a round of golf or a garden wedding. Really anywhere madras pants and sundresses are appropriate. Perhaps one of the numerous cocktail-fueled Monument Avenue Easter Parade seersucker porch parties to which I have yet to secure an invitation. Hint hint.
Perhaps the biggest distinction between Irish whiskey and scotch is the Irish tradition of triple distillation. Auchentoshan is the exception, the only single malt scotch whisky distilled thrice. The extra distillation is said to be responsible for the smoothness of the malt. It has been a while since I've tasted Jameson's or Bushmills, but as for Auchentoshan, it's as smooth as a bowling lane, I'll give it that.
The ABV ('alcohol by volume' for those of you just joining us) increases after each successive distillation, reportedly 63% for Auchetoshan's new make after its third trip through. This means it has to be watered down significantly to achieve the 40% of this particular expression. I would likely be far more enthused about a cask strength (or at least higher proof) expression. Opportunity missed.
The other effect of the extra distillation is the additional removal of congeners, a byproduct of the mash fermentation that is both an impurity and a potent determinant of flavor. Many clear liquors, especially vodka, are distilled numerous times to remove as many congener impurities as possible from the pure ethanol, further eliminating natural flavors of the original fermented grain.
The flipside is that the leftover congeners are more likely to give you a hangover while your liver tries to figure out how to deal with them. Perhaps this is why dark liquor can be especially rough on your Sunday morning disposition. I rarely have more than two drams of scotch in a given evening (switching to beer if I want to keep going) for two main reasons: scotch is expensive, and it kicks me in the head if I overdo it. That third dram is usually bad news, especially when it leads to a fourth.
Having purchased a whole bottle of Auchentoshan American Oak. by the end I found the best use for it was to prime my palate for my second, more flavorful malt. If you should attend or host a scotch tasting, please heed this advice and start things off with the Lowland malts. Otherwise whatever flavor nuance they do have to offer will be completely masked. Blue on black and all that.
Now that I have sufficiently lowered your expectations...
The golden color was darker than I would expect, especially considering its triple distillation, lack of sherry casking, and Auchentoshan's reputation as "breakfast whisky". However, a malt's color is perhaps its least reliable variable with respect to its flavor, as well as the easiest to manipulate. Consistency seems oily and thin; legs like a dachshund.
The nose is the high point for me. Sticky sweet (French vanilla coffee creamer?), toasted coconut, as well as a wet grass aroma. The oak comes wafting through like your mom's oversized glass of chardonnay she sips while dishing secrets about people you've never heard of. Later attempts at nosing discovered a steamed asparagus funkiness, but hopefully that was just Richmond's springtime pollen wreaking havoc on my olfactory capacity. My black porch furniture looks yellow.
The fruit on the palate is of the ultra-sweet variety, canned peaches and banana pudding. I could make an argument for buttered toast (where was that in the aroma?), but other times it was closer to granola bar. The grassy flavor I noticed with Glenkinchie is there, but not as crisp. I didn't notice any spice. Maltiness was minimal. Overall, the body was smooth and clean (almost sterile), but also thin and oily. Normally at this point I would remark on the finish, but I didn't make any notes, nor do I really remember anything about it. Unremarkable finish, I suppose. Meh.
None of these flavors were anything approaching strong, and therein lies the paradox. To a casual scotch drinker, these delicate and faint characteristics are difficult, perhaps impossible to pick up. It took me the entire bottle to finally feel like I had given it my due diligence. To the seasoned scotch enthusiast, the muted flavors and ultra-lightness will come off as watered down and limp.
The only remaining demographic is the non-scotch drinker, so we've come full circle. By the way, the now discontinued Auchentoshan 10 even had this on the label: "...a very light and delicate character with a sweetness and fruity flavour enjoyed even by those unaccustomed to fine malts". In other words...if you don't like scotch, you might like Auchentoshan. If you do like scotch, you might not like this one.
Overall Grade: 76/100, C
No comments:
Post a Comment