Auchentoshan 14 Year Old 2002 Provenance

Provenance is a series by Douglas Laing and I already tasted 3 Auchentoshan bottled under this label, an 11-year-old from 2000, a 12-year-old from 2001 and a 13-year-old from 2002. Douglas Laing released a 14-year-old in 2016 and that now sits in my glass.

On the nose, it's rather simple, I must confess. A heart of malt with sugars, cut grass and some citrus fruit, with ginger and liquorice. Nothing wrong with it, very summery but if I'm honest also a bit boring. It contains a light off-note of vase water or rotting plant residues. And while it stays all the way in the background, it bothers me a little bit.

It's much better on the palate. Freshly cut grass, white chocolate and a cartload of lemon. Some white pepper catches up with the liquorice. Straightforward still, but in the middle of summer this is a nice aperitif.

On the relatively short finish I get some ginger and lemon again.

On the nose a skinny animal, but on taste he makes up for it. Nevertheless, it is anything but a great malt. It's a summer aperitif. Thank you, Gwen &Richard, for the generous sample!

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