We're reviewing this on the heel of the Lasanta, it's that kind of night. Business must get done. Tastebuds must be mustered. Lots of spiders on the move tonight. I noticed recently that spiders only come out at night for repairs and expansions.
Achentoshan 21, the first 21 year scotch review on here.
A mild scotch both on the nose and tongue here. We all agree this is a subtle and refined drink.
On the nose we get a complex fruity sweetness with honey and oak. The bottle says gooseberries which does a great job at pinpointing the mild, sherry influenced sweetness.
Scott points to the lack of intensity on the nose, which usually indicates something special on for the tastebuds, like she's hiding.
The odors come through on the tongue. Not a trace of spice, extremely smooth scotch. The mildness and refinement of the nose matches the flavors too. The oak is noticeable, the sweetness, gooseberry(ish), comes through also.
Sean points to the great mouthfeel. The absence of spice makes the mouthfeel that much easy to enjoy.
Simon says the oak and the sweet play together to create a nice slight bitterness.
This has been aged in bourbon and sherry. The sherry influence is clear, but the bourbon is harder to find.
It's really nice but for Simon it's too mild. He prefers more bold flavors that stand out.
Scott's on a different page, he thinks this make a great celebration scotch and would consider getting a bottle for occasions. One thing is for sure, you will not find a much cheaper scotch that delivers this type of experience, and in that sense it's worth the money.
A reminder for those reading through, these reviews are by amateurs for amateurs, a more down to earth and relatable experience than the high flung expert tastings we commonly find online and on the back of bottles. Something you can rely on to make decisions about which scotch you want in your cabinet. We've also got many pallets here, so you can trust that where we overlap is what you will likely get out of the scotch as well.
Let's get to ratings:
For Scott this scotch is about the experience rather than the flavors. He goes 84 and looks forward to getting a bottle eventually when the occasion is right. Simon likes it, great mouthfeel, subtle enjoyable flavors that play well together, but it's not quite his cup of scotch, and he goes for 75. Sean is in the middle at 80, he wants to rate this a notch above Highland Park 18, which is comparable in price. The bottle sells for C$200 in Ontario. Kyle also got a chance to try this later and added his rating at 78. We average out to 79.3.
At 79.3 for a $200 bottle, it's a little overvalued. Scott recommends it, but unless you're looking for something incredibly smooth and gentle we would recommend otherwise. That said, it's certainly a great scotch.
Cheers!
The Scotch & Ponder crew
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