The Thompson Bros have rapidly carved out a presence as a blue-chip IB, with both fun experiments and old heavy-hitters like this refill sherry Auchroisk

Distillery: Auchroisk

Region: Speyside

Price: 245 pounds sterling ex-VAT; drammed at a bar

Cask Type: Refill sherry

ABV: 48.3%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.4, jonquil/ripe corn (natural colour).

*Drank slowly in a Glencairn with 10-15 minutes in the air

Nose: Intoxicating - sweet tomatoes on the vine, peach soda, tobacco leaves, plasters

Palate: Medium texture, very good alcohol integration, pineapple, blueberry granola, castor sugar, very slight sulfur but it doesn't detract overall. A drop of water reveals beetroot cordial, cream soda and flaky sea salt.

Finish: Long, prominent, but in an elegant way, not like some sticky PX casks that cling on for dear life and swamp out your palate. Pineapple again, grape candy, apple chips, artichoke, Tabasco sauce.

Conclusion: Now this is a brilliant bottling, and it is the first old PST bottling I've tried. It is one of those bottles that proves immaculate technical composition (texture, smoothness, depth, complexity, balance) does not detract from visceral enjoyment (unlike some whiskies some reviewers euphemistically term "austere"). I go back to the inspired pairing of apple chips and artichoke on the finish — the kind of surprising yet complementary pairing typically found in fine dining. I can only fault it for the slightest sulfuric edge, but even then, can any bottle this old avoid sulfur entirely?

Score: 92

H.Y.