2013 Auchentoshan 11 Year Old "Signatory" K&L Exclusive #5209 Refill Bourbon Barrel Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

I've got to be completely honest here, Auchentoshan is a distillery I've had trouble with over the years. Many of the casks that make it out of the distillery's hands are simply odd. Off or weird bottles are only fun if the flavors really speak to you for some reason, otherwise it's sort of a one glass and move on type of buy. But when I stuck my nose reluctantly into this sample I was absolutely stunned. It was clean as a whistle and full of sweet malty character. Not an odd or unusual note to be seen, just good clean lowland fun. Now it's still a bit young and punchy and you'll be extremely well served to take it slow and lower the proof under 100, but once you do it really opens. Let's go! The color is a really appealing old gold (0.6). This is an indication of a nice active cask and a real surprise considering this is a second fill. The nose starts sweet aromas of caramel, melted brown sugar, vanilla beans, yellow fruits, and honey. It's not super open at first and begs for water, but a first sip is in order. Surprisingly creamy and oily on the palate with perfectly subtle white peach note and rich malted grain. Now with water a huge change offering beautiful aromas of honeysuckle, even more vanilla, sweet lemon oil, and cold Korean barley tea. The texture has lost no richness, and the slightly tamed alcohol leaves us wanting another sip immediately. Perhaps the only complaint is that this is a sunny day whisky so you might need to take it to the beach with you. Otherwise, this is a stupendous value and one of the best examples of this underappreciated distillers we've come across.