The Whisky Agency (founded 2008) teamed up with East Village Whisky Company (founded 2018) to celebrate their anniversary. I reckon we’re talking about Carsten and Peter’s personal anniversaries then. I’m terrible at guessing ages but I think they could be the same age indeed. They selected two bottlings, both similar to previous TWA releases.
Auchentoshan 25 yo 1999 (50,6%, The Whisky Agency ‘Birthdays United’ for East Village Whisky Co 2025, barrel, 120 btl.)
Nose: forthcoming, with lots of yellow fruits. Peaches, some lime, later also mango and a bit of honey roundness. Drops of tropical fruit syrup. Then subtle hints of beehive notes and sunflower oil, along with dandelions and powdered sugar. Light vanilla. Much better than your typical Auchentoshan, ha!
Mouth: more oranges, or rather tangerines, with mangoes. It gets more zesty after that, with candied grapefruit, some gingery notes and a greener, light bitter edge. Subtle gin botanicals. Then green malty notes, a light grassy note and a small pinch of salt. Warming fruits but the light bitterness draws you back in.
Finish: long, with the same combination of a vanilla-laden fruit salad and a light bitterness.
A really good Auchentoshan, in line with the one bottled by The Whisky Agency during the previous Whisky Fair in Limburg. Nice to see the typical green side is rounded off by a warm, fruity layer. Seen at Whisky-Maniac and DeliaWhisky.
Glen Keith 32 yo 1993 (52%, The Whisky Agency ‘Birthdays United’ for East Village Whisky Co 2025, barrel, 36 btl.)
Nose: even more seductive than the Auchentoshan. Here we get pineapple and mango, white peach and pear, perhaps a touch of elderflower too. Nice acidity to make it juicy and subtle waxy / clay notes underneath.
Mouth: quite a lot of fruits, although in a rather eau-de-vie style with a bit of astringency. Peaches and papayas, with some caramelly sweetness and honey. Then malty notes, a few drops of linseed oil and mild oak spice, mainly white pepper.
Finish: good length, with more peppery oak coming out, hints of grassy green tea and plenty of orchard fruits.
Very enjoyable again – well-aged Glen Keith rarely disappoints in my opinion. Overall it’s a slightly sharper example, I’d say. Available from Whisky-Maniac. Score: 89/100