The Teuchter 17yo
New Decadent Drinks Release | 46% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Sweet, satisfying, and drinkable: nuff said
Passions Begetting Passions
While I’ve always loved creative writing, it was really amateur photography that brought me into the whisky-as-a-hobby sphere of the internet and hobnobbing with the Whiskyverse on social media, reddit, other discussion groups, and this esteemed website.
As an avid hiker and modest outdoorsperson, I did my best to capture my surroundings with a standard phone camera - and by “standard” I mean the miracles-of-science we all carry in our pockets. The advancements in phone-camera and handheld recording technology over the past few years have been exponential. That’s not even an opinion. What we as humans can capture with our ubiquitous six-inch metal-and-glass phenomena of modern technology would astound the average person even ten years ago.
Like most people my age and younger, I have a library with thousands of photos I’ve taken with this device: everyday life, special occasions, vivid scenes of nature, my latest dram, all captured and catalogued. Mostly buried and dormant in a cloud I pay monthly for, but at the ready when needed.
In late 2024 when I was well within the throes of enthusiastic whisky exploration, my partner - who tolerated my malted hobby with patient acceptance - seemed interested in nourishing my other pastimes. She thoughtfully purchased a compact, mirrorless professional camera, gifting it to me for Christmas that year. I loved it instantly. Knowing how expensive they are, I'd never asked for one, there were no hints that I wanted one, I didn’t think to, my phone had always been fine.
But without being too cliché, it’s now “the gift that keeps on giving.” Over 4,000 photos later, the camera’s received plenty of use and is one of my most treasured possessions.
Without any formal training or knowledge on how to even properly use it, I dove right in. Chasing light and various tableaus, backgrounds, and subjects -mostly my very active two year old Goldendoodle, who is more blur than dog. A lot of trial and error and learning how the sun, shadows, and indoor light all affect objects. The basics really.
Using whisky “bottle models” as vassals to this study wasn’t even intentional. More practical than anything. Whisky bottles are light, can be carried, positioned, and moved easily (albeit delicately) and the liquid dances a stunning color when directly hit by sunlight. They make great focal points for framing and the small lettering on the labels allowed me to practice my focus and fumble around with the camera’s tools.
A huge bonus they also aren’t sixty-five pounds of puppy energy.
So, when I found the photos I was taking of my various “models” were coming out halfway decent and my characterful neighborhood surroundings were just begging to be a background, I began publishing these photos on an anonymous Instagram, again, without any motivation beyond sharing my hobby.
Adding bottle photography and sprinkling in creative writing heightened my passion for whisky. I began seeing settings for how bottles could be framed by a photo and thinking beyond just the label for how light or colors would elevate or accent elixir and glass. I dove deeper into describing my sensations with each pour.
I always enjoyed sharing whisky, now I was capturing whisky.
Instead of opening bottles right away or shoving them in the closet, they accompanied me on trips. At first, I was self-conscious of being in the dirt, prostrate in front of a whisky bottle, camera at an awkward angle, but now I like getting a little grimy, brushing sand and soil and grass out of my hair and off my clothes.
Plus, how can I get those earthy notes off whisky if I’m not down in the Earth!
I was drawn to colorful, well-designed labels from independent bottlers like Decadent Drinks and Cut Your Wolf Loose (who use local artists and not AI) where the liquid inside matches the unique, vibrant, and splashy stickers adorning their bottles making for both excellent aesthetics and satisfactory sipping.
In some cases, a bottle would lie unopened because I had too many ideas for photos. Patience was tested as I resisted the temptation to open until sufficient capturing had been achieved.
In the case of today’s bottle, it remained untouched for months, always one more photo to take, one more adventure to capture. The wonderful logo and colorful illustration kept creating ideas. I had too many settings for “Flora” the namesake “Teuchter” and high hopes to capture those delightful green, orange, and blue hues elegantly spangled on the label and paired perfectly with the dark, cola color of the sherry matured whisky.
I eventually had to say enough. The photos were done, let’s assess the liquid.
Review
The Teuchter, 17yo, 2025 release, Matured in “Old Sherrywood” (First-fill PX Cask), 46% ABV
US$85 (£65) paid and still some availability
Decadent Drinks get an abundance of coverage on this website, especially compared to other bottlers, and are held in high esteem by the writers, myself included. They have prolific output for an independent bottler, producing a dizzying array of releases, each with their own artwork and back story cleverly put together by their team.
Their tongue-in-cheek and irreverent approach to both marketing and bottling is refreshing in a whisky world that often takes itself too seriously or relies heavily on stunts and AI, as I exhaustively discussed in my last write-up.
Setting a standard for releasing at such a high output, while treating each bottle uniquely is quite the feat and if nothing else, Decadent Drinks deserve praise for that. Witnessing giant whisky producers resort to AI and cringeworthy gimmicks with huge budgets while a smaller, scrappy output like DD treats each release with care and originality lays bare the soullessness of corporate whisky hegemony.
Before I get to the liquid, I’d like to take a moment to praise not just Decadent’s commitment to creativity and highlighting independent artists, but the label itself on this bottle.
I’m unsure of the artist, but the aesthetic is brilliant. The character, the stark colors, the design, if the artist is out there and reading this: well done! I almost didn’t want to crack the bottle as it doubles as shelf decoration.
But alas, whisky is made to be imbibed and after months of delay and too many photos, it eventually was opened.
The bottle is a 17 year “Secret Highland” (the internet says Tomatin) and “fully matured in old sherrywood”; a first fill PX cask. “The Teuchter” is a new series from Decadent Drinks that’s meant to be “modern” and “go easy on the wallet.”
As an ignorant American I had to google “Teuchter,” it’s a pejorative for a resident of the Highlands. “Flora” the character created for this bottle/story is an “out and proud Teuchter!”
From the DD website: “She likes to get out in the hills, likes her jinks hi and her hip flask full. She loves life and loves Highland malt whiskies.”
Sounds like ol’ Archie. I wonder if she fumbles around with a new camera as well…
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Sweet, satisfying, and drinkable: nuff said
Nose
Definitely cask forward, especially initially. Loads of rich sherry notes up front, but very inviting with no hints of sharpness. Fruits aplenty. Abounding in raisin-ey sweetness. Fresh plums. Peeled apple. Dates. Fig jam. Triple berry muffins. Sun Maid Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread. Warm spices. Worn leather. Brown sugar. Hints of nutmeg. Maple syrup. Dark honey.
Fans of PX sherry style whisky will dig this dram. It has loads of character, even if it is quite cask dominant.
Water brings juicy strawberries, brighter, fresher fruits, milk chocolate, and a maltier sweetness. Almost noses like a bold red wine with intense dark fruits like a Cabernet Sauvignon.
Palate
More decadent richness. Oily, thick, and mouth coating. Nougaty chocolate like a Milky Way candy bar. Toffee pudding. Jammy. Jelly donut. Rich, but not as overtly sweet as the nose, more malty-sweet than fruity dessert sweet. Water brings mulled wine, milk duds, butter cookies, and Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars.
The finish is long, warm, sticky, and lip smacking; everything you want sherry cask whisky to be with strawberry frosting and chocolate milk coming in at the end. It has drinkability in spades and is quite “moreish” as the UK folk say. A whisky that sticks.
The Dregs
This is no doubt a cask-led dram. Although I’ve knocked others for being cask-smothered (and typically do prefer a better balance between cask and spirit) the long, mouth-coating finish, thickness, and “moreishness” of this whisky takes it into “very good” territory. Also, if an active cask is going to dominate, it might as well be one as expressive as this.
The late-teens age statement helps as well and is contributing to its depth and complexity (maybe there is some spirit character hidden in there somewhere) perhaps it’s the maltiness coming through with water and on the palate.
The internet aka Whiskybase says that the “secret” distillery is Tomatin. All the Tomatin’s I’ve sampled or acquired have been sherry matured and to me it’s a spirit that does very well in sherry. It makes sense this whisky is thriving in a first-fill Pedro Ximenez sherry cask. I can’t deny this is delicious whisky and at 46% is quite quaffable and dangerously drinkable. If the mood struck me, I could easily polish off a good portion of this bottle in one go.
“Sherry bomb” naysayers should avoid this one. Or if those sticky-sweet fruit and rich dessert notes are too much, there’s plenty of other options. Fans of this style, however, would find engaging whisky at a good price from a reputable bottler.
$85 for a 17-year PX whisky!? What planet is this from…!?
The artwork is a bonus.
I’ve heard a sequel is on the way too, a 10-year Clynelish in refill bourbon.
Lead the way folks! Archie’s camera just got a new SD card…
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AD
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