The Toshan Man

Double Matured Lowlander

In 2008, Auchentoshan released this limited edition of 1.800 bottles for the duty free range – it is available at the distillery shop (online) as well. I paid 150 EUR for it, shipping included.

The Auchentoshan 1988 Bordeaux Wine Finish matured on bourbon casks for 8 years and another 12 years on Saint-Julien Bordeaux casks. One can hardly call this a wine finish. I would say it is a double matured Lowlander.

I got this bottle for Father’s Day from Dearly Beloved and had it sitting on the shelf for 5 months. Since patience is a Jedi trait, I had no problem with it. Today I finally got to taste it… and I took my time.

The color is very special: a deep gold tangerine. It’s very oily and created wonderfully big fat tears in the glass.

On the nose I discovered overripe mandarin and dried fruits, submerged in caramel and some roasted nuts (almonds and hazelnut). The whole is very sweet, covered in dark demerara sugar. The wine is present, obviously, but – thank the Maker, I was a bit afraid, I’ll admit – not oppressively much. The Bordeaux makes the nose on this Toshan very sweet indeed, but not winey. After adding a few drops of water (which this Toshan can certainly cope with), it remains sweet, even adding a little bit of marshmallow.

On the palate, this is very creamy, almost buttery. Again the sweet fruit is there, but soon to be overpowered by dry, spicy oak. Adding a bit of water will allow you to discern the different fruity tones as well as some vanilla – but also something sour like pineapple. But it is silky smooth and wonderful.

The finish is fruity with chocolate, but still rather spicy. I would have liked it a bit longer though. Adding water makes the finish shorter and allows the vinous character to reveal itself.

This is not the first wine finished expression from Auchentoshan. This 1988 Bordeaux Wine Finish is the successor to the 17 Year Old Bordeaux Wine Finish (8 years on bourbon, 9 years on Bordeaux) of which 3.600 bottles were created. I have not yet opened mine (and don’t have any immediate plans to). And then there is also the Auchentoshan 1991 Montrose Wine Finish from Malts of Scotland – which I have tried, but found lacking, to say the least.