Auchentoshan 22 Years Old 1997 Cask #DL 13389 (Old Particular)

Bottled by Douglas Laing in 2019 as a 22 year old single cask in the Old Particular range, drawn from cask DL 13389 of 1997 vintage Auchentoshan with 245 bottles distributed to the German market at cask strength of 56.9%. Old Particular is Douglas Laing's flagship single cask programme, presenting natural strength releases at non chill filtered, natural colour presentation.

Distilled in 1997 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 a single Oloroso sherry cask.

Twenty two 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, leathery rancio. Fermentation derived sotolon adds dried fig and curry leaf, with slow concentration of glycerol lending body, integrated with the spirit's underlying citrus and almond core at 56.9%.