One Cask At A Time - Auchroisk & Jura

One Cask At A Time is a new independent bottler based in Edinburgh, they sent me a couple of samples from their latest release to review.

Let's give them a try!

I reviewed One Cask At A Time's first release here, this time they sent me 2 small samples of their latest release: a 13yo Auchroisk and a 15yo Jura.

Dram	Auchroisk	Jura
Characteristics	2012 13yo Single Cask #2300667 Madeira 54.8% ABV	2010 15yo Single Cask #900219-2 Oloroso 54.4% ABV 280 bottles
Bottler notes	Aroma: Sweet apricot jam and honeyed stone fruits, lifted by citrus peel and orange zest, with soft marzipan, cinnamon and ginger over a gentle malt-biscuit base. Taste: Rich and oily on the palate, with ripe sweet fruit leading into nutty caramel and warming cinnamon spice, tapering to an elegant, lingering warmth on the finish.	Aroma: Rich dark fruits and chocolate-covered raisins, lifted by toffee, brown sugar and burnt caramel, with soft spice, fruitcake warmth and a faint saline wisp of smoke. Taste: Silky and full on the palate, with treacle toffee, dark honey and dried fruits leading into roasted hazelnut, gentle oak spice and a long, warming finish with soft coastal smoke.
My thoughts:
Appearance	Mid gold in the Glencairn, a pink tinge maybe? Swirls cling as a thin line, take a little while to bead up and fall as slow thick oily legs.	Dark gold in the Glencairn, swirls cling as a thin line which beads up and hangs for a while before falling as slow thick legs.
Nose	A lovely dry sweet note of shortbread, nutty marzipan and sweet berries. There's some honey, lime zest and a hint of baking spices.	Thick dunnage funk - musty, sherry soaked dried fruit, brown sugar and berries. There's a hint of maritime smoke and some toffee pennies. A little poached pear in there somewhere too.
Palate	Thick sweet arrival, sublime mouthfeel: berries and cherries with honey and toffee. The marzipan from the nose is here alongside the baking spices and sweet citrus. A little drying with a hint of liquorice as the liquid disappears.	Thick sticky arrival: Golden Syrup, brown sugar, sherry soaked dried fruit and blueberries. There's a little smoke but the salinity notes from the nose have gone. Toffee pennies, dates and figs appear. A little soapy as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Lingering marzipan, berries, liquorice and spice.	Lingering sherry soaked dried fruit, brown sugar, spice and gentle smoke.
Overall	I really liked the Auchroisk, the mouthfeel was excellent, the Madeira cask adding some lovely berry notes to the spirit. I don't know whether this was a full maturation or finish but the cask has played a great part in this dram's maturation. The Jura was good, but second to the Auchroisk in this pairing, a real sherry bomb retaining some of the coastal notes you'd expect from a high ABV Jura.