The Toshan Man
Mark Dermul
Sample trading?
If you can help me expand my whisky palate, especially Auchentoshan, get in touch with me. Much obliged!
Auchentoshan 25 Year Old 1988 Wine Cask Finish
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Auchentoshan
25 Year Old
1988 Wine Cask Finish Number of bottles: 1.800 ABV : 47,6% Color : Copper Tasted on 29/11/2014 |
100 Carat Glühwein
Auchentoshan has another affair with red wine. It certainly is not
the first time. Auchentoshan is one of the few distilleries that is
happily married to red wine, it must be said. The delicate nature of
the spirit certainly has a lot to do with that. The 1988 vintage was
already released in 1.800 bottles back in 2008, but there was enough
stock left to leave for another 5 years. The spirit matured for 8
years on bourbon casks before being transferred to red wine
barriques (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot) for 17
years. That makes it the longest finish in the industry, according
to the note Rachel Barrie added to my parcel. In my opinion, this is
more a double maturation, no? Anyway, I was very much looking
forward to this one.
The nose offers a wonderful mix of red fruit, plums, pipe tobacco
and black grapes. Underneath some roasted nuts and cocoa hide. Sweet
and rich, that is a nice summary. The wood also speaks with mild
tannins, but it is certainly not oaky!
The arrival is very soft. Smooth is the magic word. The oak offers
quite some spices, with cloves and black pepper in the lead.
Cherries, plums and caramelized oranges peel clamor for attention.
Mildly mineral, if you know what I mean. This is a 100 carat
glühwein!
The finish is wonderfully long, spicy and sweet with cherries at the
death.
Wow, I am really impressed. I found the previous release quite good, but this is an outstanding wine finish. It will set you back 315 EUR, though, which is more than double what I paid for the previous 1988 release. But what a Toshan! Bring on the holidays!