Auchentoshan 1988 16 Year Old Cask 4445

Auchentoshan bottled several sister cask on 30/12/1988. We already tried cask 4441 (bottled at the age of 15) and have 4446 (bottled at the age of 18) in our collection as well. Today I'm trying cask 4445, bottled exclusively for Belgium after 16 years in a boubon cask.

It is very similar to cask 4441 (I haven't tried 4446 at this time), with vanilla, cereal cookies sprinkled with sugar and pear drops. Quite some malt as well. A stout nose.

As we've come to expect from '80s Toshans, this one is quite hot. But not scorching. Fruity with apples, pears and quite a lot of pineapple. Wine gums, too. But a tad bitter at the end.

The finish lingers nicely, but unfortunately ends in a bitter note.

I got to taste this at the distillery in June 2011, but since the bottle was at it's end, I got to take the final dram (and the bottle) home. I didn't like it as much as I did in the distillery, which again goes to show that surroundings, temperature, mood and such are all factors that influence a tasting.

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