Auchentoshan Valinch

[JethroTull]

Anyone had this?

What did you think and how does it compare to bottlings such as the 3 wood, the classic and the 12?

[Iain M]

Remember very little about the taste, just that for the value it was excellent.

[sorren]

Jethro,
I have had a good few drams of the Valinch, i think im on bottle 3 now , this is a cask strength version of "Classic", so as you will know it is a young whisky, if you look in the tasting notes for the Valinch you will see my notes... if you have had the "classic" and you liked it then you will love this.... its young sweet and vibrant.... try it...
P.s please dont try to compare to the 3 wood, this is a totally different drink, and is made up of bourbon, oloroso and Px casks, also the 12 yo is made up of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, the valinch is 100% bourbon cask...

[JethroTull]

Thanks for your notes.

I was at the distillery and tasted the 3 wood, which was like velvet. I saw the Valinch and noted that it was very pale and I thought it looked delicious since the 'classic' that I was given at the distillery was like honey.

[sorren]

Jethro, at the price the Valinch is it is well worth it.... try at full strength and then water down just a little, the bottle gives you a great dram at different strengths, if you are a "toshan" fan like me you will love this, as said just remember its only about 8yo, another good young "toshan" worth trying is the 2009 festival bottle, its cask str and bourban casks were used only, and i believe only 2 casks poss 3 were used and is limited to 500 bottles, last time i was at auchentoshan they had a few bottles left....

[floranicolas]

A superb cask strength Auchentoshan. Valinch is named after the giant pipette used to remove whisky from casks for tasting. This whisky is very fruity.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

Valinch is the Auchentoshan Classic in cask strength.

Makes for interesting comparisons.

Greetings
kallaskander

[MacDeffe]

I found this somewhat young in flavour, but with a nice intense cask strength flavour profile of a young ex-bourbon casked whisky

So more or less what you would expect (hope) a whisky like this to be!

Steffen

[Onefortheditch]

I'm drinking this now and I'm sorry to say it disappoints. Young it may be, but to me its rough.

[Johnny Murgatroyd]

At the moment I am halfway through a bottle of the Valinch already. To some extent I am pleased by it, but to another extent I am not loving it.

I have no previous experience with Auchentoshan, and little with Lowlanders generally, so I don’t know if I’m just disappointed with the Lowlander style overall.

The positives, are the powerful salty notes, the vanilla/condensed milk part of the flavour and the mouthfeel.

The negatives, are the strange note of, almost, acrylic paint in the nose (like white poster paint) and something I think is youthful spiritiness.

I am not too likely to get another bottle, but pleased to have tasted it.

[scotchio]

For me Auchentoshan seems to have more in common with Hazelburn than any of the other lowlanders.Rosebank ,though also triple distilled seems quite different. Bladnoch,Littlemill,Inverleven,Glenkinchie are not really that similar to Auchentoshan. I've been enjoying the 12yo Toshan so if you fancy trading a sample let me know. I'd imagine a young cask strength Bourbon based toshan could be quite hot and in yer face by comparison.

[two-bit cowboy]

I did a comparison of Valinch (57.5%) and Hazelburn 8 year Bourbon Cask, Cask Strength (56.5%). Valinch is more interesting, with many different flavors attacking simultaneously. Also a little "hotter". The Hazelburn is easier to drink, with not such a variety of tastes. If you like to analyze every sip you take try Valinch. If you like to enjoy every sip without a lot of concentration go for the Hazelburn.

[Johnny Murgatroyd]

At the moment I am halfway through a bottle of the Valinch already. To some extent I am pleased by it, but to another extent I am not loving it.

I have no previous experience with Auchentoshan, and little with Lowlanders generally, so I don’t know if I’m just disappointed with the Lowlander style overall.

The positives, are the powerful salty notes, the vanilla/condensed milk part of the flavour and the mouthfeel.

The negatives, are the strange note of, almost, acrylic paint in the nose (like white poster paint) and something I think is youthful spiritiness.

I am not too likely to get another bottle, but pleased to have tasted it.

...and I am just tasting the Valinch again...and guess what? My reaction was much more positive. Maybe I ve been suffering whisky fatigue recently. I am loving the powerful vanillas on the palate, and the smell of young sweet corn on the nose - a trace of the bourbon barrel??

I will always be amazed by how a retasting can result in a different reaction. Keep tasting fellas

[sorren]

The more I taste this Whisky the more I want to buy, I think this could become my everyday tipple, well maybe not everyday but you know what I mean..

[TheTross]

Auchentoshan was one of those distilleries I'd been put off ever since I bought a bottle of the rather dreary 10yo a few years ago that I struggled to finish, but since then I've had miniatures of the new three-wood and 18yo and was impressed with both, so I bought a bottle of the Valinch a few months ago - partly on a whim and partly because it was a chance to try a cask-strength offering.

I instantly loved it. It's surprisingly heavy and 'punchy' for a Lowlander, full of flavour and exceptionally moreish. It does reveal its youth every so often but I actually think that works in its favour with everything else that's going on in the glass.

Needless to say that the bottle didn't last long.

[Troubadix]

After a bottle of this I have to admit, at first I wasn´t impressed at all. But, the more I drank , the more I liked it. It is not a great whisky (but who had thought that anyway) but it is a good value for money whisky.

I´m glad, I still have one bottle left.

[JethroTull]

Marvellously sweet stuff. No home should be without one.