Auchentoshan Three Wood

This is the fifth Toshan I’ve tried so far and again it is bulls-eye!

This Three Wood – like the name says – was matured in three types of casks : first American oak bourbon casks, then Spanish oloroso and finally Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. It’s no surprise that this dram is dominated by sherry notes.

The whisky is a dark shade of old gold, almost copper, with a high viscosity. Amazing legs. It has an ABV of 43%, mind you.

The nose is sweet and warm, like most Auchentoshans in my opinion, with raisins, dades and a lot of sherry. After leaving it in the glass to settle down for a minute or two, I also sensed orange peel, toffee, a pinch of tobacco and even brown sugar. This is a very interesting nose, with lots going on at the same time. Eye opener.

The first sip is somewhat syrupy, but in a positive sense. The soft sherry notes come out first – very much in the foreground – but are soon accompanied by almonds and dark fruits. Lovely.

It’s almost as good as the 12 Year Old (although that is an altogether different whisky), much better than the 10 Year Old, the Classic and the Select. According to Jim Murray’s 2010 Whisky Bible, this dram is very unbalanced and thus only deserves a 74. But to me, the roughness was a bonus and came out pretty well. But that’s just me – and I do have a soft spot for my Toshans, I admit.

The finish is very, very long, fresh and fruity, but a bit dry at the death. Even a little bit bourbon-like, which surprised me somewhat. I recommend smelling your empty glass again after a minute or two. Nice!

After the 12 Year Old, this is my favourite Toshan so far!

If you know that this bottle can be purchased for less than 50 EUR, you simply have to add it to your cabinet, no?

I’ll soon be trying the 18 Year Old, which has been eyeballing me from the shelf for some time now. And while I’m already saving up for the 21 Year Old to complete the regular Toshan range, I’m happy to say that my wife bought me the wonderful 1988 Bordeaux Finish last night. It’s currently on it’s way from Glasgow and I hope it arrives here soon… in one piece.

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