Auchentoshan 12 Year Old / QE2

In the 1980s, Auchentoshan offered a beautiful crystal decanter for sale exclusively on the Queen Elizabeth II – QE2 for short – the luxurious cruise ship that now is anchored somewhere in Dubai waiting to be converted into a floating hotel. It is important to realize that, at that time, Auchentoshan’s standard bottling was a 10 years old malt that matured solely on bourbon casks, while the contents of this decanter is in fact a 12 Year Old mix of bourbon and sherry matured malt. And the comparison with today’s 12 does not compute either, as this is bottled at 40% while the QE2 decanter’s content was bottled at 43%.

On the nose I get lovely notes of vanilla and coconut from the bourbon casks, but it also shows nice touches of sultanas and rum raisins. It is very soft and accessible, as is to be expected from Auchentoshan.

It is wonderfully creamy and sweet on vanilla and cocount, but also dried apricots and it even has a light bite of ginger and cloves.

The finish is not very long, but soft and sweet.

Well, this is a bit of liquid history and something very different from the contemporary 12 year old (which I also quite like). For the less wealthy passengers, there was also a regular 1 liter bottle with a QE2- label. The decanter – if you can still find it – will set you back between 500 and 750 EUR, while the bottle commands something of 150 EUR.

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