Auchentoshan Three Wood

While a NAS bottle, from a little digging it seems to be 12 years old with 10 years in ex-bourbon casks then finished for one year in Oloroso followed by a final year in Pedro Ximénez casks.

Experience

Auchentoshan are one of the most well known when it comes to Lowland Whisky but falls off the Scotch radar as a whole. However the entry level American Oak edition does pop up in the occasional supermarket. In 2019 Auchentoshan unveiled a rebrand that is clearly more catered to the younger and bar market, which is not a bad thing by any means.

It has a lovely colour and their website really goes into depth about how the barrels give the Whisky its colour. This all sounds very promising only to have “farven justeret med karamel” on the back of the bottle. Meaning unfortunately this has been colour adjusted with caramel.

Nose

The smell on this is fantastic. It is of musty blackcurrant jam tarts and it may just be the fireworks but I get a faint waft of burnt wood from the bonfire.

Taste

The taste is grassy and fresh on the first sip which ripens up with prickly prune juice, burnt oak and leather. It becomes quite a full flavored sipper as the malt elements increase with a pleasant funky note on the finish.

Value for Money

Since the rebranding it does seem that the price has increased for the whole Auchentoshan range. From previously being near £40 it is now around £48 – £58 online at The Whisky Exchange and The Whisky Shop. To me this feels a little high for a NAS, chill-filtered bottle owned by one of the biggest Whisky companies in the game.