Auchroisk

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > A

AUCHROISK

28 years old

56,8 %

RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1974
Bottled April 2003
Limited Edition
Genummerde flessen
Auchroisk Distillery, Keith, Banffshire
Scottish Malt Distillers, Elgin

'One of Speyside's newest distilleries; a smooth, sweet malt, from among the oldest to be sold and first to be distilled'.

When its owners decided to build a new distillery on Speyside in the early 1970s, it was no small undertaking. To meet their ambitions they needed one thing above all - a good water supply.

They found it at Auchroisk Farm by the Spey near Mulben. On this land a natural spring, Dorries Well, allowed an abundant 2,000 gallons of pure spring water to be drawn every hour, year-round.

The result was a huge, award-winning new distillery producing four million litres of malt whisky a year, with maturation warehouses holding ten times that amount. But even here, size is not the whole story.

After a few years, they discovered that the sweet, soft malt whisky distilled here not only aged well, but could be matured in bourbon and finished in second-fill sherry casks to produce a singular, soft and sweet malt - since widely enjoyed as The Singleton of Auchroisk.

The warm gold 28-year-old bottling in the first Rare Malts cask strenght release is a sin¬gular achievement of another kind. The oldest malt ever released by the distillery, it is also among the first ever made, in 1974.

A subtle, liquorice-sweet node leads to this soft-bodied old Speyside's succession of clear smoot estery flavours, from malt to shortbreadand cinnamon, with a long and warming finish

Well may you rejoice at the foresight of those who found the well. August 12, 2003.

AUCHROISK

12 years old

59,3 %
SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL CASK BOTTLING
Distilled June 1978
Bottled October 1990
William Cadenhead Ltd,
18 Golden Square, Aberdeen

AUCHROISK

11 years old

43 %
CHIEFTAIN'S ChOICE
Distillation Date September 1989
Bottling Date June 2001
Cask No. 90191 / 90192
Wood Type: Port Finish
No. of Bottles 1944
Ian MacLeod & Co, Ltd, Broxburn

AUCHROISK

10 years old

43%
FLORA & FAUNA
Auchroisk Distillery,
Mulben, Keith, Banffshire

In a striking hilltop location, visible from Rothes, is sited the Auchroisk distillery. The unusual name, meaning 'Ford of the red stream' in Gaelic, refers to the Mulben Burn from which the distillery draws its cooling water. However, the principal reason for the siting of the distillery is Dorie's Wellan abundant source of soft, pure spring-water. Through the smoke and nutty sweetness, comes the unmistakeable feel of Dories silky water, followed by a dry, well balanced finish.

AUCHROISK

46 %
1 9 9 0
Matured for 22 years
Speyside Single Malt
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY
Distilled± 20-02-90
Matured in a Hogshead
Cask No: 3659
Bottled: 11/01/13
334 Numbered Bottles
Natural Colour
Non Chill Filtered
Selected by The Ultimate Whisky Company.NL

AUCHROISK
VINTAGE 1 9 9 0
23 years old

46 %
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY
Speyside Single Malt
Distilled: 20/02/90
Matured in a Hogshead
Cask no: 3664
Bottled: 06/11/13
308 Numbered Bottles
Selected by The Ultimate Whisky Company. NL

Also see The Singleton of Auchroisk

AUCHROISK

46 %

Specially Matured and Botttled

for International Whisky Society

MorrisonScotch Whisky Distillers Ltd,

Aberargie

Kleur: Licht geel

Neus: Vanille, donkere karamel met geel

en oranje fruit en oosterse kruiden

Smaak: GFfruitige Speysider met tonen

van eiken, peper, noga en warme vanille

Afdronk: Plakkend en heerlijk verwarmend

Speyside
AUCHROISK also see The SINGLETON OF AUCHROISK

Construction of the distillery began early in 1972 by International Distillers & Vintners (I.D.V.) This was a constallation that had been formed ten years earler when United Wine traders, an agent for champagne

brandy and sherry, but also with Justerini & Brooks Scotch whisky under its umbrella, bought W & A Gilbey, famous for their gin but also with interest in the whisky business. Just a few months later, I.D.V.

was acquired by Watney Mann, at one time the second largest brewing company in the world after Guiness. But the merry go round did not stop there. After another couple of months, Grand Metropolitan, a hotel and catering conglomerate presented a hostile take - over bid to the board of Watney Mann and succeeded in buying the company for 400.000.000 pound. Two years after this initial turmoil, Auchroisk started

production. In 1997 Grand metropolitan merged with Guiness and formed Diageo who still owns the distillery.

Mulben, Banffshire. Eigendom van Justerini & Brooks Ltd. Deel uitmakend van International Distillers & Vintners Ltd. Eigendom van Grand Metrpolitan. (GrandMet).

Gebouwd in 1973 naar een ontwerp van de Westminster Design Associates. Hoofdreden was de behoefte aan meer malt whisky, en de aanwezigheid van Dorie's Well, een bron met uitstekend en voldoende water.

Auchroisk betekent 'het bos van de rode stroom', de naam van een boerderij in de omgeving.
De whisky afkomstig van Auchroisk wordt uitgebracht onder de naam The Singleton of Auchroisk.
Het eerste distillaat kwam op 8 Januari 1974 uit de ketels.
De ketels van de vier distilleerderijen van International Distillers & Vintners, Auchroisk, Glen Spey, Knockando en Strathmill, zijn van een gelijk model. De acht ketels van Auchroisk zijn grotere replica's van die van Glen Spey.
Men kan 3,5 miljoen liter spirit per jaar produceren. Het koelwater komt van Burn of Mulben.
Op 16 Oktober 1997 staakt de Fransman Bernard Arnault van L M V H zijn verzet tegen de fusie van Guinness en Grand Metropolitan (GrandMet) voor een afkoopsom van ƒ 800.000.000 die op 12 Mei 1997 was bekendgemaakt.
De nieuwe naam van de gefuseerden zou eerst G M G Brands worden maar op 22 Oktober 1997 wordt bekend dat de naam Diageo zou worden. Afgeleid voor het Latijnse woord voor dag en het Griekse voor wereld.
De Mashtun is groot 11.2 ton, er staan 8 Wash backs van elk 56000 liter.
De via een met olie gestookte boiler, met stoom verhitter ketels zijn groot 23.940 liter voor de Wash stills en de vier Spirit stills zijn 16.760 liter.

In a striking hilltop location, visible from Rothes, is sited the Auchroisk distillery. The unusual name, meaning 'Ford of the red stream' in Gaelic, refers to the Mulben Burn from which the distillery draws its cooling water. However, the principal reason for the siting of the distillery is Dorie's Wellan abundant source of soft, pure spring-water. Through the smoke and nutty sweetness, comes the unmistakeable feel of Dories silky water, followed by a dry, well balanced finish.

October 2005
Diageo has announced that its 2005 Annual Rare Malts Selection will be the last.
The collection will consist of four cask strenght single malts from closed distilleries; Glen Mhor 28 years old, Millburn 35 years old, Glendullan 26 years old and Linkwood 30 years old.
Dr. Nicholas Morgan, global malts marketing director commented: 'As the Special Releases are now well established, it makes less sence to continue selecting and promoting a parallel series of Rare Malts with his own separate indentity' .In future, all premium and rare whiskies will be made available in the annual Special Releases series.

1972

Building of the distillery commences by

Justerini and Brooks

(which, together with W.A. Gilbey, made up the group I.D.V. )

in order to produce blending whisky for J & B

1974

The distillery is merges completed and despite the intention

of producing malt for blending the first year's production is

sold 12 years later as single malt thanks to the high quality

1975

Auchroisk is bought by Watney Mann, brewers in Februari and also in

1975 July bought byGrand Metropolitan

1978

First official bottling Auchroisk
1986

The first whisky is marketed under the name Singleton
1997

Grand Metropolitan and Guiness merge into the conglomerate

Diageo.Simultaneously the subsidiaries United Distillers

(to Guiness) and International Distillers & Vintners (I.D.V.)

(to Grand Metropolitan) form the new company

United Distillers & Vintners (U.D.V.)
2001

The name Singleton is abandoned and the whisky is

now marketed under the name of Auchroisk in the

Flora & Fauna series
2002

Apart from the 10 year old in the Flora & Fauna series,

a 28 year old from 1974. The distillery's first year,

is launched in the Rare Malt Series

2010

A Manager's Choice SC and a limited 20 year

old are released

2012

A 30 year old from 1982 is released

2016

A 25 year old from 1990 is released

2020

Capacity: 5.900.000 Ltrs

Output: 5.800.000 Ltrs

2021

A 47 years old Prima & Ultima distilled in

1974 is released

Storage capacity:about 265.000 casks
Auchroisk: has one stainless steel mash tun,

eight stainless steel wash - backs and four

pairs of stills
Water: Dorie's Spring
Mash tun: 1 x 11.2 tonnes
Wasbacks: 8 x 36000 litres
Wash stills: 4 x 23.940 litres
Spirit stills: 4 x 16.760 litres
Capacity: 3580.000 litres

The Singleton of Auchroisk is formulated by James Milne, Master Blender.

Here the heavy character is produced by rapid mashing, quick fermentation and, in the wash stills, a rapid boiling regime which almost cooks the solids and allows controlled carryover of some solids. This almost singed character [shared with Blair Athol] is most obvious at new make but recedes with maturation, being replaced by a balanced honeyed cereal sweetness.

The building of Auchroisk in 1972 was meant to herald the start of a new era for blended Scotch. Certainly architecturally (like its contemporary, Allt-a-Bhainne) it stands out – a white, harled, modernist structure in the moorland. It was commissioned by IDV, at that time the parent firm of J&B which had decided that sales of the blend justified another distillery being built to join its Speyside portfolio of Glen Spey, Knockando and Strathmill.

Auchroisk was first bottled as single malt in 1986 and was the first to carry the prefix ‘Singleton’, a name now attached to single malts from Glen Ord, Glendullan and Dufftown. Although highly regarded by writers and judges in its time, it never quite made the leap from cult to major brand. Interestingly, the maturation process involved decanting 10-year-old ex-Bourbon matured whisky into ex-Sherry casks for a further two years of secondary maturation, making it the first example of finishing, but IDV never thought of talking up the process, leaving Balvenie and Glenmorangie to be regarded as the pioneers of the technique. The brand was dropped in 2001 and has subsequently quietly slipped back into the shadows.

Although somewhat remote, the large tracts of land surrounding the distillery make this the ideal site for one of Diageo’s main northern warehousing complexes.

CONDENSER TYPE i

Shell and tube

FERMENTATION TIME i

75-80 hrs

FILLING STRENGTH i

63.5%

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam

MALT SPECIFICATION i

Non peated

MALT SUPPLIER i

Mostly in house

MASH TUN TYPE i

Lauter

NEW-MAKE PHENOL LEVEL i

Non peaty

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

70%

SPIRIT STILL CHARGE (L) i

9,000

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Lamp glass

STILLS i

WASH STILL CHARGE (L) i

13,500

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Lamp glass

WASHBACK TYPE i

Steel

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Dories well

WORT CLARITY i

Clear

YEAST TYPE i

Pressed

OWNERS

Diageo

1997 - present

PREVIOUS OWNER

Justerini & Brooks

1974 - 1997

door Jim Milne,