Baying for Blood

Screen grab Master of Malt

The World Cup's over, France won, I don't have any French whisky...so...French...wine...wine casks...guess we're doing Auchentoshan's Blood Oak today. Impeccable logic.

The Auchentoshan spirit isn't the most complex. At its best, it is "subtle", which is some way of saying that it hints at many things, but doesn't really have any real stand-out profiles. But if well-balanced, contains breadth, changes over time, then subtle can also be bloody brilliant. However, for something that's at plus-minus $100 from Duty Free, you're probably not going to get top notch Auchentoshan. The secondary maturation, or finishing, is therefore usually of great help.

The Blood Oak is matured partially in red wine casks that are, I don't know, oozing with red wine residue in the wood as a result of some deep charring thing. Ok, too much chemistry for this time of the night. Bought for me from DFS by CO. More than a year ago, just opened a month back. Thanks!


Auchentoshan Blood Oak (abv 46%)

Colour - Blood. Ok, kinda like most other red wine whiskies...dark amber-ish

Nose - Raspberries, a particular type of red currant syrup drink that my church sometimes uses in place of the Communion wine substitute (yes, a cheap replacement for cheap wine). Vanilla and coconut, a certain creaminess, like custard. Spicy, on...nutmeg?

Palate - Surprisingly a little hot. The vanilla and cream helps to take some sting off. Slightly tannic and meaty, like some varietals of reds. Nutmeg, cloves, a little herby too. Bitter, like orange pith.

Finish - More red currants and raspberries, some continuing spicy notes, meaty wine notes.

Overall - Decent whisky at a decent price! The wine casks do the Auchentoshan spirit a big favour, I think. I've placed this whisky on the backburner for quite a while before finally opening it. Been about a year. Won't say I'm missing out on a lot by not opening it sooner.