Overall rating
85.22/100
ratings
11
Whiskybase ID
WB245403
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)
Bottling series
The new old fashioned
Vintage
27.01.2003
Stated Age
20 years
Cask Type
1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel
Cask number
5.118
Number of bottles
171
Strength
55.9 %
Size
700 ml
Added on
26 dec 2023 10:40 pm by Jedi
UncoloredNon-chill FilteredCask StrengthSingle Cask Whisky
Photo by WHv
Overall rating
85.22/100
ratings
11

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Whisky reviews for Auchentoshan 2003 SMWS 5.118

2 users have left 2 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 85.22 points.

Read the reviews
  1. rottendon scored this whisky 67 points Connoisseur

    In my opinion, this is a completely unripe cask that would have been better off resting for at least another 10 years. The perfume note at the end of the finish is downright disgusting, significantly worse than the violets in Bowmore.

    Notes from a blind tasting.

    Auchentoshan? 20 years?? First-fill??? What was that all about? Well, this one definitely took the dubious honor of being the worst Auchentoshan I've tried so far, and there have been quite a few! And I have to correct myself, even another ten years in storage wouldn't have saved it.
    • Nose
      82 82
      A lovely fruity/caramel note with a hint of fruit brandy is immediately apparent upon pouring. This stabilizes over the next few minutes, settling into a blend of fruit brandy and fruit, which is essentially the same thing. Only in the very background can a delicate herbal note be discerned. On the fruit side, I would say it's pears, apples, and mirabelle plums. Interestingly, the malt closes up the longer it sits in the glass, becoming quite shy. The warmth of the hand opens it up again, but the aromas shift away from the fresh fruit notes towards something yeasty like quince puree, perhaps with marjoram and savory, as well as a touch of burnt caramel.
    • Taste
      80 80
      Wow, that stuff really packs a punch in the mouth! Which brings us back to the fruit brandy, although the fruit notes are actually rather subdued now; overall, the aromas aren't particularly intense in the mouth. The most noticeable notes are herbs, but without the slightest hint of bitterness.

      The second sip is less brutally alcoholic, but just as unripe as the first; however, there is now a rather sugary sweetness, which leaves little room for other notes.
    • Finish
      40 40
      The finish is rather short, but it warms the chest intensely. The taste is characterized by a slightly stale sweetness, reminiscent of potato peel, that lingers for a short time. Right at the end, a rather unpleasant perfume note remains.

      The sweetness also lingers noticeably in the second sip, which lengthens the overall finish, so that it can now be considered medium-long.

      Even minutes later, I still can't get this disgusting perfume note out of my mouth.

  2. Armando did not rate this whisky Connoisseur

    SMWS notes: A complex fruitiness danced between fermenting apples and cognac before dipping into ginger beer and tiptoeing over to orange skin in an old fashioned cocktail, updated with a splash of lemon and raspberry garnish. Juicy red fruits translated on to the palate also, but now with baked apples, lavender and a liquorice stick that strongly identified as tree bark. With a dash of water the cognac had become calvados, and raspberries had morphed into cherries. Orange skin and lemon remained, still being tempted into a glass of cocktail bitters, perhaps alongside ginger wine and a side serving of toasted fruit loaf and peaches liberally smothered in cream.

Tasting tags lock-03

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  • Chocolate
    Chocolate
  • Citric
    Citric
  • Coal-gas
    Coal-gas
  • Cooked Fruit
    Cooked Fruit
  • Cooked Mash
    Cooked Mash
  • Cooked Vegetable
    Cooked Vegetable
  • Dried Fruit
    Dried Fruit
  • Fragant
    Fragant
  • Fresh Fruit
    Fresh Fruit
  • Green-House
    Green-House
  • Hay-like
    Hay-like
  • Honey
    Honey
  • Husky
    Husky
  • Kippery
    Kippery
  • Leafy
    Leafy
  • Leathery
    Leathery
  • Malt Extract
    Malt Extract
  • Medicinal
    Medicinal
  • Mossy
    Mossy
  • New Wood
    New Wood
  • Nutty
    Nutty
  • Oily
    Oily
  • Old Wood
    Old Wood
  • Plastic
    Plastic
  • Rubbery
    Rubbery
  • Sandy
    Sandy
  • Sherried
    Sherried
  • Smokey
    Smokey
  • Solvent
    Solvent
  • Sweaty
    Sweaty
  • Toasted
    Toasted
  • Tobacco
    Tobacco
  • Vanilla
    Vanilla
  • Vegetative
    Vegetative
  • Yeasty
    Yeasty