Another insider’s favorite from the Diageo stable, Auchroisk (pronounced orth-rusk) enjoys quasi-cult status among Speyside fans for its singular malt profile, thanks to the distillery’s signature rapid mashing, fermentation, and boiling in the stills that allows for controlled carryover of solids to the new-make distillate. Throw in five years finishing in a top-quality, refill Jamaican rum barrel, and you have something in a class all its own. The medium gold color precedes a nose of elegant smoke and gunflint (not peaty, it must be noted), alongside green banana, green apple, and faint light toffee notes. Adding full-blown intrigue is the rum barrel, which comes through in unmistakable fashion as a high-toned, funky quality sitting in the background. A touch hot at first, the palate shows hallmark Auchroisk weight, immediately broad, expansive, and enveloping, remaining so throughout. The distillery’s characteristic flavors come through in full, with all manner of savory baked goods, orange oil, and citrus hard candy up front. With air (no water necessary), the true Auchroisk soul emerges as an utterly charming honeyed sweetness on both the nose and palate. You might call it botrytis if you came across it in a Sauternes or Auslese German Riesling, but here it’s just pure Auchroisk, and it plays magnificently against aromas of petrol, crushed rocks, and tropical fruit. The palate likewise carries that honeyed character in an enchanting back-and-forth with a subtle menthol note, all the way through to a surprisingly long finish. I can comfortably say I haven’t had anything like it in recent memory.
95 points, Andrew Kitz, B-21 Spirits Buyer (Mar 2025)
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