Auchentoshan Valinch
Bottling Note
A superb cask strength Auchentoshan. Valinch is named after the giant pipette used to remove whisky from casks for tasting. This whisky is very fruity…
Nose: Banoffee pie, apple peel and mixed peels greet the nose with hints of figs, dates, oak and nutmeg. Quite oily too.
Palate: Banana again, but this time cooked with sugar and butter. More than a little malt too, some charred oak, vanilla spice and cinnamon late palate.
Finish: Good length, sweetness and spice on the tail.
a surprise
the seller informed me that the Valinch 2011 was the surprise of the year to him and he recommended this Auchentoschan to me. And I do not regret buying this fantastic not too complex lowlander! bought an extra couple of bottles after finishing the first one because it so fits my idea of a very well made lowlander!
29th July 2014
Warming
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.
6th March 2012
Cask Strength Classic
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.
7th December 2011