03/02/2021 Auchroisk

Auchroisk 31yo 1989/2020 (44.9%, Thompson Bros., Refill Sherry Puncheon, 122b): nose: unexpectedly musky, meaty, even, as if matured in a vulgar-wine cask. With 'meat', I meant cured meat. I certainly did not remember it to be this way... Pickled red onions, brine, pickled ginger and pickled beets. Weird! Squashed burgundy lipstick is next, heady pot-pourri, some kind of dark-tulip soap, as well as something oily, buttery, hinting at a paste made of shea, Brazil nut and unripe hazelnut. It does smell like a beauty store (think: l'Occitane or The Body Shop), especially after the briny and meaty side subsides. Nothing wrong with it (it is not a soap fest), but it is unusual. When tilting the glass, hard-boiled egg white appears. The second nose is much closer to some kind of nut liqueur or gentle almond coffee. Suddenly, it comes back with more meat; this time, raw pork. Mouth: it is frankly acidic, now. It has the brine from the nose and the red onions too, that would be smeared with burgundy lipstick. Retro-nasal olfaction sees old plasticine, hardened to a point, whilst the back of the tongue welcomes green-grape juice. Unfortunately, the grapes are not very ripe, and it is pretty rough. Olives, plucked from the tree a minute ago (if you have not had that experience, know that it takes weeks of preparation to make the olives palatable), even a pinch of wet coffee grounds, aniseed and, lastly, fresh olives. The mouthfeel, because of the acidity, is quite stripping. Finish: ah! Much better, here. The finish has mild toasted nuances, with mocha, walnut skins and roasted almonds. The creaminess sometimes associated with almonds is well present, though it does not cover up the overall bitterness. Aniseed, black cumin, nigella seeds, maybe. Louder and louder, coffee settles. For such a reasonable ABV, it also numbs the gums spectacularly -- or more than anticipated, at the very least. It seems to be trying to be fruity, but it fails at that, reaching unripe hazelnuts at best. This is weird. It feels much younger than it actually is, with ropey alcohol integration and an uncontrolled acidity. The finish saves it from a true disaster -- just! I am still not convinced at all, though, which is incomprehensible, as it was my favourite dram, back in November.. Has the sample gone off over the space of two months? 6/10