Auchentoshan Valinch - 2011 Release

The name 'Valinch' is easily explained, as it's the name of the copper pipette used to draw the whisky straight from the cask. The Valinch has no age statement, which means it's rather young. It is in fact the cask strength version of the popular Classic. I got to taste this just after it's release during my visit to the distillery in 2011. It's a limited release. The nose burst with sweet vanilla, as we are used to from young Auchentoshan. And there is a sweet touch of citrus as well. Crème brûlée and some fresh barley. The attack is quite peppery to be followed immediately with wonderfully soft and creamy liquid that warms the mouth. This makes me happy. It's the perfect summer dram. Perfectly drinkable without water, despite the high ABV, but with a few drops of water it doesn't lose any of it's punch and remains fully flavoured. The finish is crisply like a vanilla biscuit and last quite a while. This is much better than the Classic, which I found to be somewhat simple. A worthy big brother, if you ask me. This is also the first whisky created by Jeremy Stephens, the new Senior Blender of the Morrison-Bowmore group. They have put the right man in the right place.

Warming to it without water, but the flavour really comes out with a drop. A very smooth clean taste, more like toffee than vanilla I would say, buy lovely nevertheless.