Auchroisk Distillery — Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Auchroisk Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located near Mulben, Banffshire, in Speyside, Scotland. It was founded in 1972 and began production in 1974, and is currently owned by drinks giant Diageo. Built to supply malt for the J&B blend, it is one of Speyside's high-volume "workhorse" distilleries and its single malt has been sold under several different names over the decades, including The Singleton.

History

Auchroisk was commissioned by International Distillers & Vintners (IDV), then the parent company of the J&B blend, which judged that rising sales of J&B Rare justified building a new malt distillery to add to its existing Speyside stable of Glen Spey, Knockando and Strathmill. Construction began in 1972 on a site near Mulben chosen for the discovery of a local spring, Dorie's Well, whose water was found to be similar in character to that used at Glen Spey. The distillery, an architecturally distinctive white, harled, modernist building set in open moorland, went into production in 1974.

Although Auchroisk's output was designed primarily for blending, a first single malt bottling appeared in 1978. From 1986 the malt was rebranded as "The Singleton" for export markets, since the name Auchroisk was considered difficult for consumers outside Scotland to pronounce. The distillery reverted to bottling under its own name in 2001 with the launch of the Auchroisk 10 Year Old in Diageo's Flora & Fauna range, and the Singleton branding has since resurfaced periodically for special and travel-retail releases. Diageo became the distillery's owner following the 1997 merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness, which had earlier absorbed IDV.

Quick Facts

• Region: Speyside, Scotland
• Founded: 1972 (production began 1974)
• Owner: Diageo
• Status: Active
• Stills: 4 wash stills and 4 spirit stills

Core Range

Auchroisk's single malt is bottled only occasionally and in limited volumes, since the bulk of production continues to feed Diageo's blends, particularly J&B. Releases have included the Auchroisk 10 Year Old (43% ABV) in the Flora & Fauna series, various expressions under The Singleton of Auchroisk name, and periodic special releases such as an 18 Year Old bottling. Availability of official bottlings is limited compared with Diageo's larger single malt brands, making independent bottlings a significant route to trying Auchroisk.