Auchroisk 20 Years Old Darkness (MoM)

Bottled by Master of Malt in 2020 as a 20 year old Darkness release of Auchroisk, distributed to the German market at cask strength of 54.5% in 500ml format. Master of Malt is a UK based independent bottler and online retailer, with the Darkness series finishing single malts in small octave Moscatel sherry casks to drive intense secondary maturation in compressed time.

Distilled at the Mulben distillery built by Justerini & Brooks in 1974, the wash was made from 100% unpeated malted barley with soft Dorie's Well water and fermented for around 53 hours in stainless steel washbacks. Auchroisk runs the spirit through four wash and four spirit stills with constricted lyne arms, encouraging high reflux that returns heavier compounds back to the pot. Shell and tube condensers give further copper contact, stripping sulphur compounds, with the spirit collected at around 70% ABV.

The Moscatel cask finish drove distinctive sherry character into the lighter Speyside base. Moscatel is a sweet sherry made from Muscat grapes, bringing characteristic floral terpenes including linalool and geraniol for rose petal and candied citrus, alongside concentrated fructose for honeyed body. The small octave cask format intensifies oxidative aldehyde development and surface area extraction, layering Moscatel character over the spirit's signature light ester profile at 54.5%.