Auchentoshan 12

Review by: TOModera

Hello again ! I’m here with my 7th scotch review. So my wife is pretty awesome. I’ve been having a bad couple of months at my job, and she has been awesome the whole time. I’ve been working on writing up these reviews to help alleviate stress, and she knew that I haven’t had a new scotch in awhile, so she picked me up an early Xmas present, the Auchentoshan 12.

Other than being the hardest scotch to spell (other than Oog), this is one of the few Lowland’s I’ve ever tried.

Distillery: Auchentoshan

Bottler: Beam Suntory

Region: Lowland, Scotland

ABV: 40%

Age: 12 years.

Cask type: Unknown

Price:$52.90 (CAN).

Color: Fire Orange. Possible dyed? I’m not that good at identifying if it is. Seems lighter than normal.

Nose: Roses, bananas, orange, ginger, Windex (this is a good thing), cherries, almonds, apple, coffee.

I’m normally not the biggest fan of whiskey with a light fruity smell, leaning towards more peaty or port/sherry/dark fruit noses, but this one works. I think it’s the extra punch of coffee/ginger or Windex that helps makes it nice.

I like the smell of Windex as I used to use it all the time to clean….. don’t know if that makes me crazy.

Palate: Green apples, pepper, strawberry, light margarine, citrus, little smoke.

This has a very light flavour, and it’s taken me some time to identify it. The young age seems to be the main culprit here, as well as the 40% alcohol content.

That being said, it’s a nice aperitif scotch. I wish the margarine flavour had some more punch to it. The taste almost reminds me of dried fruit that has soaked in alcohol.

Finish: Pear, light oak, chardonnay, wood chips, green apples.

The green apple flavour seems to haunt this scotch, which is the main detriment I can say for the finish.

It’s very clean and takes a little time to leave your palate. Again, I’d recommend this one as an aperitif before a meal.

Conclusion: All in all, this is an okay scotch. The green apple throughout makes it one noted, which is too bad, however I think this is the start of something nice. I want to try other Auchentoshan’s to see what happens when one ages this some more, and I’ll have my eyes open for a cask strength in the future. I’d say this is a pretty good Lowland to start with.

Final Score: 79.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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