Auchroisk distillery
Auchroisk was only built in the 1970s. For many years, the whisky was also difficult to obtain. The Auchroisk is an absolute insider dram as sadly most of their production continues to go into blended whiskies.
Auchroisk Whisky
The Auchroisk Whisk ydistillery is located between Rothes and Dufftown on a hill at the Burn of Mulben, which flows into the River Spey. It is unclear how to pronounce Auchroisk now. The management of the distillery pronounces the name “Och reusk”, while locals pronounce the Gaelic name like “Ach Rask” - but however you pronounce it, Auchroisk means “ford on the red river”.
House Style
What does Auchroisk single malt taste like? Auchroisk is a rather spicy-nutty Speyside quite representative. Auchroisk whiskies are often characterized by a fine sherry note, which is often reflected in aromas of berry fruits. The Auchroisk distillery is located in the Speyside region, so it also produces whisky that is typical of this region. The single malt whisky is mostly used for further processing for blended malts. There are no original bottlings, but because the quality of the single malt is so good, it is available from several independent bottlers.
Manufacturing
How is Auchroisk whisky produced? Some of the Scotch whisky produced in Auchroisk is bottled as single malt, but is primarily used for blending in J&B blends. The water for the distillery comes from the Dorie’s Well spring, which provides extremely soft water. The whisky is distilled in extremely large stills, which probably gives it its fine, mild aroma.
The water source of Auchroisk is Dorie’s Well in Banffshire, it provides the water for about 3.1 million liters of single malt whisky, which the Auchroisk distillery produces in one year. Since the distillery was laid out very generously, there is still plenty of space for extensions.
History
Until the recent wave of new distillieries began to spring up Auchroisk distillery could claim to be one of the of the youngest whisky distilleries in Scotland. It was built by International Distillers & Vintners Ltd between 1972 and 1974. Auchroisk was originally only supposed to distill whisky to make blended malts, but the single malt was so good that a very young whisky was bottled for the Japanese market as early as 1978. Today, the Auchroisk distillery’s single malt is only available from independent bottlers.
Auchroisk factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auchroisk | ar*thrusk | Speyside | Scotland | |
| Status | Active | Whisky Type | Website | Tours Available |
| Active | 1974 - Present | Malt | Auchroisk | Not Available |
| Manager | Distiller | Blender | Owned by | Parent Group |
| Shane Fraser | Diageo |
Auchroisk Timeline:
1970: International Distillers & Vintners/IDV purchased the 220 acre Auchroisk Farm because Dories Well rises on its land
1972-May: Building work begins with the cask handling area and what are now the No. 4 and 5 warehouses
1973-Jan: The main construction work starts
1974: Opened by International Distillers & Vintners (IDV)
1975: Acquired by Watney Mann, brewersLater that year acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd.
1986: A mature single malt is ready and is launched as The Singleton because marketing people consider Auchroisk too difficult to pronounce to non-Scots. This refers to the expression used in the early days for Single Casks of Whisky at auction. Them coming as a single item instead of in parcels often implied exceptional quality or age
1992: Won gold medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition and at the Monde Sélection
1994?: Now managed by Justerini & Brooks (Scotland) Ltd., a subsidiary of International Distillers & Vintners (IDV)
1999: Distillery’s owners, Justerini & Brooks, is a subsidiary of International Distllers & Vintners/IDV which merges with United Distillers/UD to become United Distillers & Vintners/UDV
2004: Owned by Diageo plc
Can I tour Auchroisk?
No, unfortunately Auchroisk distillery is not open to the public for tours
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