A Scot on Scotch

WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

Pintail

Pintail was once a blended Scotch brand produced by Matthew Gloag & Sons, the company that created The Famous Grouse. The brand was revived, label and all, by Keith Bonnington of The Whisky Cellar and used for a series of bottlings featuring a wide range of interesting drinks, including single cask Scotch whiskies that have been finished in unusual wine casks. This time around, the whisky comes from Auchroisk Distillery in Speyside.

This is the second in a trilogy of reviews that look at some of the latest releases in The Whisky Cellar’s Pintail series.

*Full disclosure: the whisky featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

The Whisky

Auchroisk is a Diageo-owned, Speyside distillery. Relatively new by Scotch whisky standards, it was established in 1972 and has largely been dedicated to producing spirit for blends. Single malt expressions have historically been few and far between with the only official release coming in the Flora & Fauna series. More recently, however, the distillery’s malt has been a regular fixture in the output of Scotland’s many independent bottlers.

This single cask Pintail release was first matured in a refill bourbon hogshead before being finished in a cask that previously held Fondillón, a red wine from Alicante, in Spain.

Smell: Interesting nose with lots of winey fruits with strawberry, raspberry, red apples, oranges and apricot jam. There’s also some baking spices, including cinnamon and ginger. Old oak in damp dunnage warehouses. Golden syrup. Dark chocolate and black pepper in the background.

Taste: There’s a massive arrival. It’s eye-widening my big! It almost comes as a shock. There’s big plummy red wine with dry oak and lots of warm spice. Dark chocolate. Black pepper. It also has a wee meaty note, not dissimilar to chewing on beef jerky and washing it down with red wine.

Thoughts: This is a cracker but it’s very much a cask-led dram – don’t expect a great deal of balance between spirit and oak – but it makes up for any lack of nuance with sheer flavour. A splash of water gave it a lovely structure with the red wine fruits sitting on top, with spices running through the middle and the meaty oak at the base. It would be a great dram to track down if you enjoy seeking out bold new flavours. Not necessarily a traditional Scotch profile but an interesting diversion that pushes at the category’s boundaries.

Price: £110. Not cheap, though probably not outside the ordinary for a single cask of this age. Especially when there’s a rare cask finish on show. It’s not a dram for everyone – arguably that could be said about Pintail in its entirety – but there will be some that totally fall in love with it. One for the adventurous.

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