SMWS 5.71 (Auchentoshan) Elbow Patches and Saucy Librarians 18

Another sample courtesy of @wierdo, cheers mate! I'm getting a bit of a back log developing re. samples and thought this would be a nice, mellow way to get back on the malts after a wee lay off.

So a SMWS bottling of Auchentoshan - I know little else about this - and this will be (shocker!) my first taste of any 'toshan. I'll start off neat and see how we go.

Nose - very fruity on first contact, with lots of over-ripe tropical fruits - pineapple and mangosteen jump out but it's a big, complex fruit salad. There's also a touch of some jammy red fruits (raspberry for sure). Some soft spices mingle with the alcohol, which is restrained given the abv. I also get a slight chalky, mineral note too which is most pleasing and offsets the sweetness nicely.

Taste - Woah this needs water, I feel like I've just sucked on a lemon.

Water has softened the nose and brought out more of that chalkiness, vanilla, creamy malt and some clove. More focused and expressive for sure.

Taste - Resinous yet light mouth feel. Soft, honeyed, more of those tropical fruits and a grassiness. There's a dusty oak note along with the chalky element that I really like. Again, quite complex.

Finish - Short - med. It becomes more tannic as it develops and you're left with some black tea, red pepper corns and a hint of syrupy fruitiness.

I feel water helped this but the teaspoon I added may have been too much for the palate. I like the mix of overt fruity notes and the drier, chalky side - it really works here. I wonder if this has had a finish in a PX, or similar, cask? The finish is a tad disappointing but still plenty to enjoy here. One that would probably be an interesting journey with a full bottle but not quite enough to get to really know it from a sample.