Auchentoshan Cooper's Reserve 14 Year Old

I tried this for the first time in my swimming pool in Spain (check YouTube), but am willing to put the tasting note to (digital) paper as well (any excuse to bring a Toshan to my lips is a good one, right?). The Cooper’s Reserve is a mix of bourbon and sherry casks. They were brought together after 14 years of maturation and offers a nice golden color with amber hues.

The nose is fruity, but rather sharp. It is delicate as we are used to from Auchentoshan, but there is a veritable battle going on between sweet and sour. Sweet as in vanilla or crème brulée and sour as in gooseberries. The gooseberries have the upper hand for now. I leave it to breath for fifteen minutes. It is much more balanced now. So give it some time. Slices of orange dipped in choclate and quite a few nuts. Very nice nose, now.

On the palate it are the same orangettes that scream for attention, but it is silky soft and nicely sweet. Again, quite some nuts. Sugared almonds. Creamy vanilla custard. Feisty on spices.

The finish is medium long, honeysweet on toffee and spices.

This is an undemanding, but lovely summer dram. The 46% bottling strength is obviously an advantage to this whisky and I hope the people at Auchentoshan will continue to bring out more whiskies at higher strength.

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