In 2011, no one was asking for an NAS cask strength Auchentoshan, but also no one was not asking for an NAS cask strength Auchentoshan. Then Suntory gave us an NAS cask strength Auchentoshan, The Valinch, named after everyone's favorite whisky scooper.
Though I'd had no real issue with Auchentoshan's 40% or 43%abv releases, they were all sort of figuratively vanilla at that strength, except perhaps the 18 year old. So I was one of the folks interested in the Valinch releases. Unfortunately they only lasted for two years, disappearing before I could indulge. Thankfully, St. Perkins of Riverside hooked me up with a sample from his bottle, many moons ago.
Distilled by: Suntory Holdings
Current Ownership: Beam Suntory
Region: Lowlands (Glasgow-ish)
Age: minimum 3 years (no age statement)
Maturation: all American oak
Alcohol by Volume: 57.5%
NEAT
At first, the nose is all apples, vanilla cake, vodka, and bubblegum. Some actual barley peeks out later on, but is quickly submerged by cinnamon candy and confectioner's sugar. The raw palate is full of heat, cinnamon red hots candies, rock candy, lemon candy, and malt. Hints of coconuts and orange candies stay in the background. It reminds me of Westland's malt, but sourer and younger. It finishes aggressively sweet, with malt, cinnamon, and coconuts in the back.
DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
It noses of sugary new make, cassia, bubblegum, and dry cheese. The palate has a similar sugary new make style, with plenty of malt and ethyl, and hints of cinnamon and lemons in the background. It finishes sweet and slightly salty, with lots of cinnamon.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is certainly not an improvement over their standard releases. In fact, it's arguably worse. It's hot, raw, and (horror of horrors!) boring. Reminiscent of cheap Irish (3x distillation!) and Canadian blends at times, this version of Valinch demonstrates why this expression disappeared quicker than it had materialized. Perhaps this would have been good for home blending, in lieu of grain whisky. Tragically, it was sampled next to yesterday's 1965.
Availability - Sold out?
Pricing - ??
Rating - 73
