The Whisk(e)y Vault - Episode 84 - Auchentoshan Three Wood

[@Thesappysongwriter]

This is one of my favorite whiskys I have ever tried. I find it very lovely on the nose and tongue.

[@lalambdas]

Pipe tobacco is the perfect description! Watching this review as I sip a glass I received for my birthday. Hit the nail on the head with the nose description!!

[@rbrockster]

Thanks, you guys. I found an old bottle of this in my cabinet that's 50% full, which was a few years old. Still tastes of candied apple and has that raisin and plumb flavour. I mooched off myself.

[@nicholasromero6330]

I have started my own whisky vault inspired by you guys, love the channel, keep doing what you're doing.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Heck yes! Welcome to the awesome journey!

[@nicholasromero6330]

I don't have quite the space that your vault has, but I am adding to it every month. so far I have Woodford reserve, Makers Mark and some Knob Creek. I am sourcing some local distilleries to volunteer at and hope to learn more about the process as a whole. I believe that if you show a willingness to learn then the people you hope to learn from show much more enthusiasm in teaching... plus you know I'm channeling some mooch...

[@WhiskeyVault]

Mooching is the fastest way there.

[@bigfil1981]

Hi, I've just discovered you due to the Modern Rogue. Very impressed with your knowledge and delivery of it. Auk-en-to-shan is one of my favourites.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Me too! Thanks!

[@rafx2014]

as a whisk(e)y enthusiast myself, after seeing the Modern Rogue video i had to look you guys up and subscribe right away. keep up with the undouchey, relaxed reviews. you deserve many more subscribers! Slàinte mhath from Argentina.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Yes, I know we just talked about aging. I've had so many emails about this, I decided to repeat the rant so no one would miss it. Blame Rex.

[@FightStealDrink]

Ya know... I have direct access to these video edits. Just sayin'

[@ibcrazy6866]

Alright, this is about to sound really aggressive but at this point I'm watching this procrastinating for my final exam of my college career and I can't run through and re-edit it to make it sound nice. So grab a glass and read this understanding that I do enjoy your content (outside of the below mentioned things) and hell I'm even debating making the whiskey academy my first vacation once I get some days off from my first job. That being said.... As a chemical engineer, listening to you try and talk about chemical processes melts my brain cells. I love the banter and all of the stuff you do talking about whiskey, the regions and what not, but saying that degradation is only influenced by time is false ( the whole ligand thing, they are just chemical compounds fundamentally, which means once analyzed could easily be added into a drink synthetically, and even if they couldn't be separated out and analyzed degradation is a chemical process that can easily be manipulated with some simple thermodynamic/ chemical kinetics ) and when you talk about adding water to the whiskey creating a "chemical reaction" that's just not correct. The water is interacting as a separation mechanism or a dilutant, but I highly doubt that it is physically changing the chemical compounds in the liquid. Chemical reactions are like turning CO2 and water into carbohydrates, separation by density or the hydrophobic nature of those particular compounds isn't changing them into something else. Alright, chemistry rant over. I might not be a professional whiskey guy yet, but I know my chemistry and hopefully some of this harsher than intended criticism will help you both learn as well. IB

[@WhiskeyVault]

I completely agree. Try to turn off the analytical part of your brain when I go into misusing technical terms ;-)

[@franciscodiaz3028]

I just had a dram of this. This was my 1st venture into single malts back in college. Great video!

[@imangus247]

Did the Auchentoshan distillery tour some years ago. I was the only one on the tour. Mega. Fell in love with the Three Wood.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Yes! I'd love to do that tour someday. Never made it as far south as Glasgow when I was living there.

[@MarkPilipczuk]

It’s a great tour. Our son organized it when he was at University of Glasgow and we visited. Great tour, great people there. Highly recommended. Sipping on some Three Wood right now as I watch this. Love this whisky.

[@rossjeromejr3706]

First acquired this magnificent Lowland to toast the passing of Sean Connery. Have consumed 3 bottles of this so far. Love the reviews and knowledge shared by the channel. I am lucky to have a neighbor who introduced to the world of scotch, but you have motivated me to explore Scotch as well as Irish whiskeys. My favorites are Lagavulin 16 and Port Charlotte 10 Heavily Peated!

[@chuckironsight3914]

just finished my 3rd, if im not drinking peaty dram, im drinking this

[@Surfingsucksnow]

Was just sipping on this, and wondered if you guys had done a review. I went to chewing tobacco with my nose. Not dip, but whole leaf chewing tobacco. Has the same rich raisiny molasses flavor. Glad I was able to pick the same notes out as you guys, before watching the vid. Cheers!

[@cindyliu1690]

LOVE you guys! I enjoy your banter and y'all seem like the kind of folks we want to sit and sip some whiskey with and or eavesdrop on and admire your nerdome. Thanks for including more notes on smell, flavor and taste of each whiskey and keeping it fun. Could y'all please also sprinkle in a little info on price. I'm super needy like that. Also, Rex needs a medal signifying his Mooch Mastery. Just say'n. Keep on keep'n on!

[@WhiskeyVault]

Yes! Price. absolutely.

[@ryanthewineguy3172]

So glad you all did this one! I really enjoy this! And I agree, Pipe Tobacco for sure. Very rich and earth, one of my favorites so far!

[@TheOriginalRaster]

I've purchased and tried about 100 bottles of Scotch, probably 60 others, Bourbon, Irish, Rye, and this Auchentoshan Three Wood will be one of my next purchases, one I haven't tried. When I was getting my start I found articles about beginner Scotch, and the Auchentoshan triple wood was on everyone's list (for some reason). I didn't find it at first, but then later it didn't seem like one to try since it had been labeled as a beginner scotch. From you taste tests (and other reviewers) it sounds quite interesting. Thanks!

[@danielpedroso4311]

I used to brew a lot of beer at home - mostly sour beers. I had some pretty interesting experiments with aging/“oaking” those beers, but my favourite method was: 1. Sour fermentation for a few days until pH reached my desired level of acidity 2. Boil to kill the lacto bacteria 3. Alcohol fermentation (with yeast). This would take a bit longer because of acidity. 4. Store the beer in kegs, and add to the beer some toasted oak chips inside stainless mesh containers 5. Let beer stay in contact with oak under pressure for about 2 weeks 6. Remove oak. At this point the beer would be so “oaky” it would be similar to chewing on a piece of oak bark. Super aggressive. 7. Let beer age in the keg without the oak for at least a month. Done. It would actually taste absolutely amazing, but that last step was pretty much mandatory. I always loved oak-aged everything, but I realised there is such thing as too much oak when I started experimenting with this stuff - I never drilled too much into the exact chemistry, but alcohol really does need time to mellow out a lot of the harshness of oak. It happens naturally in barrels, since the whole process takes a lot longer, but anything that you do to increase the contact surface and therefore accelerate the process will result in something almost undrinkable at first - it will still require some time, even if in the bottle/keg - for things to taste less like saw dust.

[@vagabondwastrel2361]

sadly this post is like 2 years late.

[@Stromhuntfish]

I'm drinking this right now and I can barely detect any of the things you are saying on smell and taste....but damn when I smell and taste this it is still sooo good! Great videos! Keep up the good work, thanks!

[@reptilianskin]

I've had the Auchentoshen 12 year old. I remember reading that it was triple distilled, similar to Irish whisky. I found the taste very easily accessible and smooth and sweet like butterscotch or toffee.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Yeah, the 12 is killer. The Three Wood is amazing. Tastes like pipe tobacco.

[@dwighthopkins6566]

This episode hints at the one thing that I am most curious about in the world of whiskey aging and that is the effect that different varieties of wood has on the finished product. Even barrel to barrel with the same run of wood can produce different notes within the alcohol. The soil acidity and compounds held within the wood vary greatly hence the need for blending to keep consistency in finished products. How deep do you get into this topic in the classes? I would think this could be a class itself.

[@cupajoes]

Bought a bottle of this on your recommendation. For just under $100 Australian, it was more money that I usually like to spend, but it was totally worth it. Cheers.

[@TheOriginalRaster]

It is very weird to be watching all of your videos in sequence, I'm on 84, but I've watched at least 100, and here you are joking about achieving 500 subscribers, yet I look at the page and I see 42,000 subscribers. What? Man! What the heck? That's pretty good. Cheers!

[@nitramgnal]

I really enjoy spending time watching Whisk(e)y Tribe videos while drinking whisky. I've just bought this bottle. It's very strong on the prune notes. Too strong, in my opinion.

[@traycec6827]

I got the Auchentoshan 3 wood as a single for 5 bucks at our local whiskey-centric watering hole several months ago and was blown away, but alas... when I went to get a bottle it was far too pricey for my meager means. Delicious!

[@flintlock3939]

How about a compare/contrast with Auchentoshan 12 and American Oak? I have access to all three, but would only lay out the cash for one.....at a time.

[@CMathewGomez]

This was the 500 sub video? And look at y’all now!!

[@JesusIsMySaviorILoveJesus]

I’ve binged watched up to this point, and I’ve gotta say, I love when Daniel gets nerdy! 🤓 I guess I’m a nerd too and love love to hear about all the science behind this stuff. Very cool, keep it up!

[@specteractual1]

84 episodes in less then a week. watching this one in the shower with some Walker platinum. my plan is to be cought up by Sunday it is now Thursday

[@WhiskeyVault]

Holy shit. that's true commitment. And there's no wrong place for Walker Platinum.

[@specteractual1]

what makes the Walker better is I didn't pay for it. a former friend left it and let's just say he is not willing to take the ass beating he would get if I see him again

[@WhiskeyVault]

Well played.

[@Nugmaster224]

How is the Auchentoshan American Oak?

[@andrewwebb6270]

Okay, so after watching a lot of your videos I have noticed when you talk about the barrels its (from what I've watched) always oak . Is there anything that's done in a wood that's totally out of left field? Is there a reason it's always oak?

[@WhiskeyVault]

Legally, in most countries, it has to be oak to be called whisky. But there are a few distilleries out there that are experimenting with other random barrel types. However, they'd have to use them as finishers to still call it whisky. Oak is mostly preferred due to its cellulose structure being perfect for aging whisky.

[@DexXx84]

Guys. I've been watching you for some time and what I've found out is that the episodes I was getting on KZbin main page were taken from the frequently watched channels. When you mentioned the subscriptions count I double checked if I'm subscribing, and... I WASN'T! Fixing this ASAP :D

[@TXAggie93]

Nice Nap hair Rex!

[@ip3948]

Dark treacle and apple. Really delicious. Reminds me of Balcones Pot Still Bourbon. So so much nicer than their bourbon cask offering.

[@imoffett]

why does Rex look like he showed up in his pj's with bed head??

[@WhiskeyVault]

He often does

[@drewfuerstenberger4675]

Am I wrong or NOT WRONG for thinking this has cumin/taco seasoning smell on the nose. Trying to for the first time and this doesn't fit any pattern for the scotches I've had in the last 6 months.

[@drewfuerstenberger4675]

Wait, just picked up beef boullion.

[@karl_alan]

I have found most everything I have tried from them has some cooking spices to it. I get more of a nutmeg or cinnamon, but I could totally see cumin instead.

[@raymondmota2776]

Just out of curiosity are you guys this laid back in real life?! 8pm pacific time would be great for me as far as a live tasting or whisky sipping session. Keep up the awesome work.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Yeah, this is almost identical to when Rex and I hang out in real life.

[@PDHelmuth]

Ok, I wasn’t going to put on my first comment until I’ve caught up on the episodes (and I’m only through 182). But after trying Auchentoshan Three Wood, PIPE TOBACCO is definitely the smell. I smoke a lot of cigars, but have a pipe for occasional puffage, and my first smell was of the local pipe shop.

[@PDHelmuth]

And I paid $22 for a glass neat, when the bottle only costs $65 locally.

[@WhiskeyVault]

yeah.. ouch.

[@Jay_Aitch82]

Whiskey newbie and I just bought my first bottle of Auchentoshan

[@adamsmith7883]

Hey. Just wondering if anybody has had the Auchentoshan American Oak single malt? I think it's something I would like, since I'm coming from bourbon and going into scotch, but I don't want to buy an entire bottle just because I think I might like it. Cheers!

[@WhiskeyVault]

It's awesome. it has the slightly sour notes of a bourbon cask, and it's tasty.

[@karl_alan]

I love it. It is kinda spicy, not hot, but more like nutmeg and cinnamon from the barrel. At least that's how it presents to me.

[@bradl3593]

Three Wood vs A'bunadh vs Nadurra Oloroso...?

[@vinceandtheresa1243]

500 subscribers ! :) Today, November 2020 you are at 335,000! nice

[@dwb73]

Another very well known Whisky review channel referred to Auchentoshan as an Irish Distillery in Scotland because all of their whiskys are triple distilled.

[@twdietri]

So how would you compare the Three Wood to the 12? There is about a $20 CAD difference in price for those here in Ontario, Canada, where all alcohol sales are government regulated through our LCBO. I'm looking for a sherry finish bottle for my next purchase and am considering this or a bottle of Abelour A'Bunadh.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Completely different whisky. the 12 is all high notes, earth and bourbon-y vanillas. The Three Wood is all dark, smooth, rich leather and raisin/tobacco. The A'Bunadh is an amazing whisky, but it's far more aggressive and sharp on its flavors than the Three Wood. Worth buying, though.

[@twdietri]

Got the A'Bunadh today and it is great. Definitely a sweeter finish than I have had before an surprisingly not too overpowering for a 120 proof scotch. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@HickLif3]

wow you hit 500 in april? almost a year later and you are sneaking up on 100k!

[@WhiskeyVault]

crazy, right?

[@robcarson2728]

I bet you could use a dilute hydrogen peroxide solution to kickstart lignin denaturation by washing a barrel with it and rinsing with water before adding whiskey. Since the resulting hydroxyl groups are already present in the ethanol, I doubt it would negatively impact the taste (or safety!) of the resulting whiskey.

[@dresh9122]

Do you think the Three Wood was named as a play on words for whisky drinking golfers? Suddenly all the golf courses in Scotland stock up, triple wood just doesnt have the marketing potential I feel.

[@WhiskeyVault]

Unfortunately, it's only named that because it's aged in 3 different woods. But your story is so much better. Let's stick with it.

[@dresh9122]

I knew about the 3 different woods, I was more thinking about the way they worded it. Three wood (singular), not Three woods, not triple wood or three barrel - or a vast number of names they could have gone with. Golf is really big here in Scotland, especially in the West coast. There are some 20 odd golf courses within 30 mins drive of the distillery (and about 15 of those within 20 mins drive) It's also the closest to the World famous Turnberry Golf course and I can't help but think maybe the name was picked not jsut because of the three diff barrels but because it's also an apt play on words. Auchentoshan is only 15 mins up the road, next free day I'll go ask - excuse to do the tour again ;).

[@Theplaymaker1271]

When I had this it literally tasted like Black Currant flavored whiskey lol

[@trapperkcmo3460]

if broken down cellulose is a part of the aged flavor, why not throw in some really old wood in with the other charred pieces in the pressure vat? or find a way to accellerate the cellulose breakdown of the wood youre using without effecting the taste. or, distill and concentrate cellulose from wood and add that in. cheers

[@PostboxesukltdCoUk]

4:19 that noise :)

[@josephrobinett867]

I know exactly what you mean when you say pipe tobacco! Spot on Daniel! Rex get with it! What kind of Mooch are you?

[@SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

Interesting, .... just the other day I was wondering if anyone had experimented with putting pieces of wood in whiskey to age them more quickly. I hope science never figures out how to duplicate the classic slow way of making whiskey.

[@beneltonturkeyslap]

I know this is an older video... but surely there is a whiskey scientist that you could bring on the show to talk about all the s@#$ they tried to get a rapidly aged whiskey (breaking down lignans)

[@drdre4397]

I am way late to comment on this video but I love that you cant cheat whiskey. Only time makes good whiskey.

[@WhiskeyVault]

YES.

[@kennethvlahos1127]

Things like this? Who says that?

[@JimmyLeg]

Y'all do drink your whisky pretty quickly. I'm sure it's just for the purposes of the video but you could pause the video for 10-15 mins then come back and explain how the whisky has changed in the glass because it does change.

[@webx21]

You were comparing colors of three wood and Auchentoshan 12 but coloring in three wood is artificial. It's written on the box.

[@justanotherparatrooper7098]

Breaking news! Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery

[@cowboy0776]

As a pipe smoker, I can honestly say that aromatic pipe tobacco smells great but there’s zero taste to it. If y’all want to experience tobacco with taste, try an English style tobacco. You could also try a Virginia blend or a Va/Per blend. Va/Per stands for Virginia/Perique.

[@chacehawkins4708]

Bet the emperor is feeling good about his call now.

[@TerrenceBowden-i4k]

Found the American Oak too bland. The 12 year old and Three Wood are very good.

[@dukewheeler7846]

From 500 to 107k

[@Drew_Mason]

Hine

[@vagabondwastrel2361]

Two things. The ceo of youtube was and is a woman. Second point if google wants some information about you.... they already have it.

[@cato451]

One of the worst whiskies I've ever had. Granted I tried it in the 90s. Maybe I need to give it another try