Auchentoshan distillery pronounced: Ock-en-TOSH-an) in the Scottish Lowlands is one of the bigger names in single malt whisky.
Auchentoshan is a great survivor - for many years Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie were flying the Lowland flag alone as the only remaining active Lowland single malt whisky distilleries - and to this day is one of the very few remaining Scottish distilleries to practice triple distillation as a standard procedure in its single malt whisky production, and certainly the most prominent.
A light, delicate, unpeated single malt whisky, Auchentoshan is a relatively distinctive spirit thanks to the joys of triple distillation and makes a fascinating whisky to investigate more closely.
Auchentoshan Distillery
Founded: 1823
Stills: 1 Wash Still, 1 Intermediate Still, 1 Spirit Still
Capacity: 2.5 Million Litres
Water Source: Loch Cochno
Owners: Suntory Global
1969-Present: Journey to the mainstream
Like many other distilleries, Auchentoshan was never really available as a single malt before the early 1970s, when it came under the ownership of Eadie Cairns Ltd. There is also a notable absence of it from any of the early independent bottlers, thus making it hard for us to know what old-style Auchentoshan was really like.
The distillery was renovated between 1969 and 1970, when much of the old equipment, including the worm tubs, was replaced with modern counterparts. However, in general Auchentoshan has remained remarkably unchanged compared to other distilleries. Triple distillation in Auchentoshan’s unique three still setup has always been standard practice at the distillery, along with the use of only unpeated barley.
The result is that Auchentoshan has always been a very light whisky, with a production process that strips out most of the heavier, long-chain molecular compounds and concentrates the lighter acids and esters. After maturation, these provide the whisky with a gentle weight carrying an immense amount of softer flavours.
Bottlings of Auchentoshan’s whisky from the early 1970s are usually very charming and often display minerality, light metallic touches, a lot of grassiness and some lighter notes of oil and polish, although it should be noted that some of these aspects were probably not present in the original whisky and have developed or been enhanced by the intervening decades of bottle ageing.
Moving through the later 1970s and into the 1980s many of the official bottlings of Auchentoshan show more distinctive notes of porridge, olive oil, fewer obvious waxy or mineral qualities and the occasional cask selection failure showing more cardboardy or vegetal aspects. Fortunately, later bottlings from towards the end of the 1990s, when the range was expanded and redesigned under new owners Suntory (who had bought the distillery from Morrison Bowmore in 1994) show a distinct improvement.
Auchentoshan is currently available officially in 12-year-old, 18-year-old, 21-year-old and 24-year-old expressions, alongside the no-age-statement (NAS) American Oak and Three Wood editions and various travel retail bottlings. The official bottlings seem to improve with age - the NAS bottlings are typically marked by a distinctively Auchentoshan profile of pear drops, cereals, mashy notes and flowers, while the 18-year-old and 21-year-old both show an elegance and maturity which Auchentoshan really needs in order to show its full potential.
Auchentoshan is one of those rare spirits with so many light alcohols and flavour compounds that it can keep its freshness in the wood for many years. Anyone who doubts Auchentoshan’s potential for flavour should delve into some of the official aged releases distilled in the 1960s and 1970s that have been bottled since around the turn of the millennium.
These include a fascinating and long-running historical verticale series of single casks from the 1966 vintage, which contained whisky distilled before Auchentoshan’s worm tubs were removed and were bottled sporadically from the mid-1980s onwards, reaching a crescendo around the turn of the millennium with a string of stunning 30-something-year-old casks before a final pair of absolutely glorious single cask 44-year-olds released in 2011 and 2012.
This potential was further demonstrated by the official 50-year-old single cask Auchentoshan official bottlings from the 1957 vintage - both casks show just how incredibly composed, elegant and controlled the distillery’s spirit can be at great age.
These prestige edition Auchentoshan whiskies, although becoming increasingly expensive on the secondary market, reveal a Lowland single malt whisky at the height of its powers: all that lightness morphs into an exceptionally fruity whisky, full of mature floral notes, malty sweetness and beautiful aged characteristics of metal polish, pine resin and rancio.
Independent bottlings of Auchentoshan used to be quite rare but are now increasingly common and many are of good quality, although the best and most consistent examples of the make seem to be the official releases. Auchentoshan Three Wood, in particular, provides a meatier, more jammy angle on the spirit and is a very popular dram among chocolate and cigar aficionados.
Auchentoshan is easy to overlook if you like big flavoursome malts, especially if your only encounter is with the NAS bottlings - although even these unpretentious whiskies make superb highballs in the summer. But it is a spirit with great potential and, when aged properly, it can be amazingly complex, with poise, elegance and a wonderful array of lighter, fruit-driven flavours.