Auchentoshan 12 Years Old 2013 The Nectar of the Daily Drams (Daily Dram)

Bottled by Daily Dram in 2025 as a 12 year old release in The Nectar of the Daily Drams series, drawn from 2013 vintage Auchentoshan and distributed to the Belgian market at cask strength of 56.9%. The Nectar is a Belgian spirits importer based in Mons, with the Daily Drams series presenting hand selected single cask releases bottled at natural strength.

Distilled in 2013 from 100% unpeated malted barley with Loch Cochno water from the Kilpatrick Hills, the wash was fermented around 62 hours across Douglas fir and stainless steel washbacks before triple distillation. Auchentoshan runs every drop through three copper pot stills, with the intermediate and spirit stages collecting at around 81% ABV. The extra copper contact strips sulphur compounds and fusel oils while concentrating ethyl hexanoate, isoamyl acetate, and other light esters, giving a clean spirit base filled into Oloroso sherry casks.

Twelve years in European oak Oloroso conditions drove deep sherry character into the lighter triple distilled base. Ellagitannins and gallic acid from the European oak build dried walnut and grip, while oxidative aldehydes including acetaldehyde and syringaldehyde develop nutty rancio. Fermentation derived sotolon adds dried fig and curry leaf, with glycerol concentration lending body, integrated with the spirit's underlying citrus and almond core at 56.9%.