In the early years of Scotland’s ancient and most world-renowned industry, many merchants bought single casks of whisky and bottled them as they were, preserving their unique character and flavour. As a family-owned, independent company bound to no single distiller, Claxton’s proudly continue this ancient tradition by hand-selecting individual casks that reach only the highest benchmark.

The marriage of wood and spirit in a cask creates a unique flavour and aroma. As each release of Claxton’s is bottled straight from a single cask, this individuality is preserved and no two bottlings are ever completely alike. This means each release offers the opportunity to discover rare whiskies with exquisite and truly individual tastes which may never be repeated in quite the same way again.

At Claxton’s, the approach of bottling whiskies in their most original form is born from generations of exploration and appreciation of ‘Uisge Beatha’ (the traditional Gaelic term for whisky, meaning water of life). Not a single precious drop has been chill-filtered or has any added colouring, preserving the original flavour of the whisky. Every release is bottled only once the balance of flavour between wood and spirit is perfect, no matter how long this may take. Claxton’s value quality of taste and aroma above all else, and so do I!

 

 

This new release from Claxton’s Spirits is a delightful Auchroisk 25 years old distilled in 1991 and bottled at 51.7% ABV.

Nose:  Sweet and pretty fruit-forward with masses of pear drops and red applesauce leading the way to ripe peaches, fresh multigrain toasts, pumpkin pie, cherry blossom honey and bee wax. There’s this pleasant feeling of accidentally popping in an old Parisian-styled grocery store runned by a quirky old man and surprisingly finding yourself so comfortable that you feel like engaging a discussion (I know, I’m probably on my own on this one – that’s probably why they say tasting notes are really subjective!)

Palate: a surprising palate with honey, caramel, strong oak, sweet spices, white pepper – still showing a sweet profile with some hints of far breton [we’re now heading to Brittany after a quick stop-over in Paris – can’t really bear Parisians for too long… ;)], dried fruits, dates, cooked orchard fruits… And as weird or childish as it may sound, sparkling sugar.

Finish: Lingering with roasted almonds and nuts

 

ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PEARS AND DRIED APRICOTS

Psst! Find the recipe here!