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Auchentoshan 12 Year Old

A Cheaper Keeper!

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@Pudge72Review by @Pudge72

3rd May 2011

0

Auchentoshan 12 Year Old
  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    19
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    85

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

I have been interested in picking up this bottle for quite some time as I had read many positive reviews of the bottling. It also represents a great value in Ontario @ Can$45, which is actually cheaper than Glenlivet and Glenfiddich 12! As for background on the product itself, make sure to check out Connosr’s own “Toshan Man” and his website at www.markdermul.be/toshanman/ . This excellent site also includes a link to the re-designed Auchentoshan website

I have shared this bottle with other novice and experienced whisky drinkers and all have enjoyed it. This dram was tasted in a copita glass, without hand warming or water added. Now on to the notes…

Nose: Toffee, butter, and most noticeably, caramel coated almonds. I also detected a slight hint of orange once or twice, though it does not provide a consistent presence.

Palate: The buttery sensation translates nicely from the nose to palate. The underlying orange sensation also make an infrequent appearance that, when apparent, provides a nice contrasting flavour to the general buttery/toffee/almond combination. A slight black licorice note is also detected fairly regularly. A mild peppermint note also appeared suddenly and briefly. I’m not sure what to make of this, as I have not noticed that note on a consistent basis with each sample. Please comment if you have noticed this or can provide a theory on it.

Finish: The licorice note detected on the palate carried through on the finish that I found to be of medium length and drying. It had a slightly harsh quality that detracted slightly from the experience.

Balance: There is a good transition of aromas and flavours between nose, palate, and finish. I found most flavours to be consistently present, without being in competition with one another.

Overall, a very nice dram that is an excellent value product that I find to be superior to the traditional Speyside gateway drams. It will have a continuous presence within my cabinet. I would particularly recommend this to people who are interested in getting into SMW’s, but have enjoyed sweeter liquers in the past such as amaretto and Grand Marnier.

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11 comments

@LeFrog
LeFrog commented

I agree @pudge72 nicely put.

13 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor commented

@Pudge72, thank you for a nice nuanced review. I, too, would usually drink the Auchentoshan 12 in preference to either Glenlivet 12 or Glenfiddich 12. The Toshan 12 has to my palate more and better flavours than those two others.

13 years ago 1Who liked this?

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

@Pudge72, nice review, mate. Thanks for the plug of my Toshan Man site too. Interested people should check it out in a day or two where I'll have your story up - photo included. Don't you just love this community? :)

13 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Lars
Lars commented

Great review, I too have just acquired a bottle of Auchentoshan 12 Year old a few days ago. I was very pleasantly surprised at it's character and it quickly won me over. Very easy drinking and IMHO a great bang for your buck at $41 plus tax here. It will always have a place in my bar.

13 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Pudge72
Pudge72 commented

Thank you all for the great comments and feedback...My wife deserves the kudos for surprising me with this bottle several weeks ago. I was more than happy to share this with @victor and @dbk a couple of days later. It was also the introductory dram for my friend who later purchased the Highland Park 18 that I just reviewed (the 'Tosh quite impressed him, and opened his eyes to the beauty of SMSW's...one or both of us will have the 'Tosh handy at all times).

@markjedi1...couldn't agree more...Connosr is indeed a wonderful resource for the whisk(e)y community!

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

Check out www.markdermul.be/toshanman for the full story behind this particular tasting note :) @Pudge72, thanks for sharing. If anyone else has a Toshan Story to tell, I've got a special section on the Toshan Man website just for that purpose!

13 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Pudge72
Pudge72 commented

Small update...apparently someone at the LCBO read this review as the 'Tosh 12 has now been bumped up to CAN$48+...still a great value for quality. On the bright side, the 'Tosh 18 was lowered to an extremely reasonable CAN$94.

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

Does that mean you'll be getting the Tosh 18 as well? You will love that one, I'm sure. If it weren't so expensive (relatively speaking in comparison to the entry versions such as the 12 or the Three Wood, I mean), I'd have more of that one too. Or the 21 (that is sublime!)

13 years ago 0

@Pudge72
Pudge72 commented

D'ah! I will be getting it at some point, though I just realized that it is not on my wishlist...got to fix that...I'll catch 'jdcook' yet! :)

Unfortunately, I am trying to prioritize my purchases by price, starting with the cheapest, which means the 3W and 18 - while very well priced - are a ways off from being bought. At this point, the 12, 3W, and 18 are the only bottles available in Ontario.

The purchase process has been prolonged in large part due to a couple of trips to the US (buying stuff that is just not available in Ontario) and the fact that the LCBO keeps discontinuing bottles, which move those up the priority scale (Glengoyne 10, Bowmore Tempest, Port Charlotte An Turas Mor, Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or, Aberlour 16).

13 years ago 0

@Pudge72
Pudge72 commented

Edit: I have bumped up the score by one point to reflect the improvement of the bottle after being open about 8-9 months (back in January). @WhiskyJoe and I both have noticed a nice rounding out and improved presence of the flavour notes in the last 1/2 - 1/3 of our respective bottles (hooray for toffee and almonds!). My bottle would now rate an 86, so the new 85 score is an averaging of the original review and the current score.

12 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

Glad you bumped it in the right direction :)

12 years ago 1Who liked this?