Auchentoshan Distillery was established in the Dunbartonshire estate of Auchentoshan in 1823 by one Thorne, an engineer from Greenock who manufactured the ‘inter alia’ distillery plant. It changed hands several times over the years before being partly destroyed by a German bomb raid in 1941. Throughout the decades of ownership changes and refurbishments, Auchentoshan whisky has been able to refine it’s craft into what it is today
Their trademark clean, complex character starts with malted optic barley. They feed the milled, malted barley – and pure water – into their lauter tun at 63.5°C. The heat helps turn the starches into sugar. After two fillings they are ready for fermentation – the third filling is used as the first water in the next mash.
They are the only Scottish Single Malt distillery to insist on triple distilling their beer from around 8% up to a whopping 81% (Other distilleries tap out at around 70%)
Their whisky is matured in casks which held bourbon, sherry or fine wine. It’s an essential step in creating Auchentoshan – the spirit and the wood work together over many years, lending colour and flavour to the finished whisky.
