The Toshan Man

Peerless

This Limited Edition made the visit to the distillery in June 2011 more than worth the trip. I collect the special releases in round numbers if I can... I know, I know, it's a perversion of sorts. Wendy at the distillery shop tracked down a round number, so I now have bottle 110/500 in my cabinet. Apart from the fact that it looks great and is packed in a beautiful box, it's the contents that really blew me away.

It's full gold color, bordering on bronze, might make you think a sherry cask was involved. That is not the case. This Auchentoshan matured exclusively on bourbon casks for 35 long years. Date of distillation is 7th May 1975, bottling took place on 8th March 2011.

The nose... oh... the Nose! To call this one 'bourbonny' would be unfair. It's much better than that. I get butterscotch ice cream with acacia honey, raisin rum and three sorts of vanilla, if such a thing exists. I've never had such a beautiful nose on a bourbon matured Auchentoshan before. It keeps developing in the glass. Toffee and some licquorice. A spoonful of mint. Grand, deep and simply delicious, this nose is. I'm not sure I'm going to drink it. Seems to be a shame...

It starts very soft on the palate, with citrus in the lead. But soon the sweet honey takes control and caresses the tastebus in all the creaminess it can muster. Fudge, sweet malt, a touch of oak and a pinche of cinnamon round out the whole. Exquisite balance. This makes even the most experienced Toshan Man's jaw drop. Typically Auchentoshan, yet so much more. Words cannot do this whisky justice.

If only the finish were a little longer, this would be the perfect whisky. The finish is rather soft and let's the sweet malt do all the talking.

This is a peerless Auchentoshan, period! My good friend Niek and I were even allowed to play around in the Blender's Room at the distillery with cask samples from 1974 and 1975, to create our very own single malt. Believe it or not, that's even better! So keep an eye on '74 and '75 Toshans as they are truly magnificent.