The Toshan Man

Eucalyptus

To emphasise the individuality of each cask Authentic Collection whiskies are bottled undiluted at their natural high maturing strength and are not subject to any artificial chemical processing. Colouring is never added to Cadenhead's Single Malts nor are they subjected to any filtering that might remove natural constituents and spoil their flavours. I'm tyring one of their Lowland, i.e. the Auchentoshan 15 Year Old, distilled in March 1981 and bottled in September 1996. It has an ABV of 64,1%.

The nose is rife with citrus and violets, but eucalyptus and mint can be found as well. Also present are vanilla and a touch of honey. Frish and clean. The addition of water makes it wonderfully fruity.

The attack is feisty on vanilla, breakfast cereal, white fruit and again eucalyptus and mint. Adding a bit of water makes it wonderfully soft and sweet.

The finish is lingering, peppery and citrusy sweet. The addition of water, however, kills off the finish.

This is a hard-to-find bottling of Auchentoshan, but very much worth the search!