Auchentoshan 11 Year Old 1999 Exclusive Range

The Creative Whisky Company, of which David Stirk is the owner, releases whiskies in three 'Exclusive' categories. One of them is the Exclusive Range, single casks on 45%, non chill-filtered nor coloured. This is Auchentoshan cask 117, with an output of 238 bottles.

It has a golden sheen and beads nicely in the glass. And while the fruity character of Auchentoshan is immediately recognizable on the nose (sweet honey, soft spices, floral), it also has something 'dark'. It reminds me a little of sugar candy. A trifle a-typical for this Lowlander.

I get quite some tannins on the palate. The oak is quite spicy, despite the alcohol level of 'only' 45%. It's very fruity with vanilla pudding, honey, cake of oranges and marmelade.

The finish is long and warming.

This is good stuff. Legend has it that the bourbon cask started leaking during the transport from the warehouse to the bottling plant. It needed to be transferred to another cask immediately. The only available cask was a sherry butt. I would swear you can taste it. Anyway, it's a great story for a great Toshan.

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