Scotland, Speyside: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Speyside:

Auchroisk

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Auchroisk Distillery
Mulben
Banffshire EB55 6XS
+44 1542 885 000

Owner: United Distillers & Vintners (Diageo)

Creation date:1974

The single malt produced by the young and modern distillery Auchroisk is called "The Singleton". The first bottling of "The Singleton" dates from1986. The distillery was build in 1973 and has been build because the demand of the blended whisky industry was very high. The stills produced their first alcohol in 1974.
This very elegant distillery has won lots of architecture prizes and its whisky was awarded more than once. About 10% of the production is marketed as single malt, the remaining being used in blends, specially in the famous J&B.
The distillery found out an original system to avoid the wash to overflow during the first phase of the fermentation. At the difference with other distilleries who use a rotating motor with a kind of propeller, the system of Auchroisk consists of 4 stainless steel bars above each wash back. As soon as foam reaches one of the bars, a mechanism lets fall a solution based on dietary fiber and the effect is immediate: the foam produced by the fermentation goes down.
As the distillery works for about 90% for blending, specially for J&B, the owners use to mix their single malt prior to send the casks for blending (vatting).
In addition, a number of casks from other distilleries are maturing in the Auchroisk warehouses, in prevision of future blends.

The whisky

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

	Auchroisk
O.B.	The Singleton	16 1/2
Douglas Laing	Old Malt Cask, 14 years
Ian McLeod	Chieftain's Choice 11 years	17

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The Singleton of Auchroisk
Age	10 years
Alcohol	40°
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

The colour is amber, the nose marked by sherry, liquorice and malted barley.
The mouth confirms the nose, with a hint of peat, which is also present in the finish.

(la Maison du Whisky)

Apart from its unpronounceable name of the distillery (who named its malt Singleton for evident commercial reasons) there is nothing wong with this whisky. It is a pure traditional Speyside single malt, sweet and round. The price is reasonable. It can be considered as a good whisky in a honest collection.

A second tasting has partially confirmed the first one. Despite a certain lack of complexity, the nose is pleasant, the palate smooth and the finish of average length make that this whisky deserves some more than during the first tasting.

During the third tasting, the rather flat character of this good whisky made the quotation go back to the one from the first tasting.

Auchroisk Chieftain's Choice 11 years
Age	11 years
Alcohol	43°
Cask	Porto
Bottler	Ian McLeod
Price/litre

The nose reveals fruits (cherries?) and is slightly smoked. The taste is syrupy, fruity and winy.
The rather long finish is perfumed and fruity.

(la Maison du Whisky)

Another nice whisky from the Speyside area amongst so many others. The ageing in port casks makes the greatest difference with the official version. Unlike other whiskies matured in port casks, the alcohol impression is strong, and it hides a bit the sweet character which is typical of this kind of aging. One more bottle one is happy to have, even if it is not essential.

A second tasting of this delicate whisky with a discrete but complex smell changed my mind. The rather discrete nose reveals slight malt hints with some sweet fruity notes. The palate is rather sweet, probably due to the effect of the port, and this time I haven't been bothered by the alcohol impression like the first time. A finish of average length prolongs the pleasure.

At the second tasting, the nose was much more promising, revealing a definite smell of smoke, hay on a fruity background. A rather great complexity in the palate, due to the contrast between the port sweetness and the malt hints. A kind of freshness and touches of discrete acidity. The finish is long and pleasant, and recalls the fruit hints. The first quotation was probably too low, considering the pleasure I had during the second tasting.

The rather rich nose is divided between sherry and malt hints, and the general impression is a quite sugared spirit. In the palate, a great sweetness, with however some slightly bitter but very pleasant hints. Is that peat? A certain complexity, with malted clear malted notes and some more bitter hints. The finish is without surprise, but quite long.

The nose is first rather discrete, with a hint of smoke on a background of hay and fruits, somewhere between pear and prune. In the mouth,a nice mix of malt and a slightly acid hint, followed by a clear fruit taste. A nice finish, marked by the fruits.

Auchroisk Old Malt Cask 1990 cask #1425
Age	14 years
Alcohol	50°
Bottler	Douglas Laing
Price/litre

Speyside

The Speyside area is situated at the North of the Cairngorm mountain and goes to the Moray firth. It is delimited by two rivers: the Findhorn at the West side and the Deveron on the East side.
The area is named after the river Spey. Most of the distilleries take their water in one of its affluents; the Fiddich, the Livet or the Avon.
About sixty distilleries from Speyside are described on this site.

Click on the map for a list of the distilleries of the area, on the title for further information
about the Speyside area, and if you want to make an "alphabetical journey" through the area, please
click on one of the pagode roofs, according to the direction you want to follow

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Last update: Wednesday, 19-Mar-2008 23:55:40 CET
Wed 14 05 2008, 00:43 - 45 visiteurs au cours de la dernière heure et 2 visiteurs sur le site en ce moment.
Copyright:Jean-Marie Putz (2003-2007)

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