The Toshan Man

Autumn

CWS is short for Chief Whisky Society, a whisky club from China. They selected this single oloroso sherry cask as an exclusive to their members. If it were not for my new friends in Taiwan, I do not believe I would ever have gotten hold of it. Luckily I got my hands on two bottles. One for the Toshan Temple and one to savor. Thanks, Joseph!

The nose is quite different from what you would expect of an Auchentoshan on oloroso. And I’ve had my fair share of those. I first get autumn leaves, sniffing tobacco, Sirop de Liège, dried grass, potpourri and oranges. Juicy pears, caramel paste, nutmeg and milk chocolate. Quite atypical, but delicious all the same!

Sturdy arrival. Nicely piquant on cloves, candied ginger, cinnamon and black pepper. Then a whole range of dark notes emerge: tobacco, dates, raisins, candied oranges, coffee grounds, sherry and mildly burnt caramel. But it works wonderfully. Very nice and exciting.

The finish is wonderfully long, spicy and bittersweet.

Admittedly, I would not have recognized my beloved Lowlander had I tried this blind. And 600 EUR is an awful lot of money (not to mention the customs bill), but this one simply should not lack in the collection. The fact that it’s a belter adds to the joy.