Auchentoshan 2007, 15y.o North Star

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 54% ABV | Chill filtration: No

Special Features:

This single-cask release was matured entirely in a red-wine barrique. Distilled in October 2007, the Auchentoshan was bottled for Shinanoya in September 2023 after fifteen years of maturation. This Cask Series 023 release yielded 295 bottles at a cask strength of 54%; the whisky has no added colouring and was not chill-filtered.

The whisky ranges from apple and poached pear to old leather, pipe smoke, butter and dark fruit. On the palate, apple cider, oat biscuits and white pepper meet sweet tobacco, notes of wine and sherry, earth and soot. Ash and toasted wood carry the long, dry finish.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose reveals apple and poached pear alongside old leather, pipe smoke, butter, dark fruit and dried herbs.
• Palate: On the palate, apple cider, waxy notes, white pepper and oat biscuits combine with sweet tobacco, notes of wine and sherry, earth and soot.
• Finish: The long, dry finish combines ash, oak and toasted wood with a warm, smoky aftertaste and delicate bitterness.

Distillery/Bottler:

The roots of Auchentoshan Distillery near Glasgow can be traced back to Duntocher Distillery, which was licensed in 1823 and renamed Auchentoshan in 1834. The distillery works with gently kilned, unpeated barley and triple-distils its whisky. The final spirit reaches around 81% ABV before cask maturation begins.

Iain Croucher founded North Star Spirits in Glasgow in 2016 as an independent bottler. Alongside single-cask releases, the company offers the Vega blended malt range and the Spica blended Scotch range. For this selection, North Star Spirits bottled the Auchentoshan from the red-wine barrique for Shinanoya.

Facts: