Auchroisk 19 Year Old 1996 Kintra

Auchroisk is one of those unknown distilleries built, in 1974, by the forerunner of Diageo, to provide malts for the increasing demand for blends, most notably for J&B – Justerine & Brooks or sometimes Junk & Bullshit when people are in a foul mood… The malt is hardly obtainable as official release, but you can come across it by Indies, like this one from Kintra that appeared a few years ago in their Single Cask Collection. What a pale fellow, indeed!

The nose is honeysweet and reminds me of pineapple juice. Quite floral as well, with violets and buttercups. Freshly cut grass. It develops nicely into fresh spring fruit and puts the sun in my glass.

Hey, on the palate, this is actually a feisty fellow. Very spicy on white pepper, liquorice and ginger, before the fruit reveals itself. Some more pineapple, but now joined by gooseberries and young apples. Again very fresh and summery, while the malt puts some fattiness on its body. It sticks to my teeth.

The finish is surprisingly long, very sweet on a truckload of vanilla, but dies a slow drying death because of the wood.

This is neither junk nor bullshit, but a lovely, summery Auchroisk at a good strength.

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