Auchentoshan 18 Year Old 1999 Château Lafite Cadenheads

If you visit Cadenhead’s in Campbeltown, at the end of the tour you can bottle a so-called Cask End. My good friend Chris brought me back this special Auchentoshan from 1999. Special because the whisky, after an initial maturation in a bourbon cask, was re-casked into a Château Lafite cask. Lafite is a wine region in Bordeaux in the city of Pouillac. The wine of this château is classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé. I wonder what that has done to our beloved triple distilled spirit.

The nose is dark and sweet, very candied and absolutely stunning. Turkish Delight, dried apricots, fresh figs and sugared orange peel, some toffee apples, cherries, milk chocolate and bergamot oil. With patience you will be able to discover the distillery character in this complex and sweet nose.

The arrival is powerful, sweet, spicy to piquant and sets your mouth aflame. The ABV has a lot to do with that, obviously. The dark and sweet notes return in full regalia with dried citrus peel in the lead, followed by pastry with marmalade and dark honey. Very succulent and rich.

The finish is very long, very spicy, but remains mostly sweet. Nevertheless, it leaves the mouth completely dry.

What a bomb! This Auchentoshan spent almost half of its live in the wine cask and came out as a glorious dram.

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