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Release Notes
Auchentoshan often gets overlooked in the new age of big sherry and big peat. The Lowland stalwart's triple-distilled, light, and fruity flavors often have more in common with Irish whiskey than they do Scotch single malt, but that's exactly why we love it! The longer Auchentoshan sits in wood, the more exotic those fruit flavors become, which is exactly what happened inside this hogshead from Hepburn's Choice. There's a kiss of sweetness right off the bat that's lifted and bolstered up by the 53.3% ABV. The vanilla kicks in shortly after and there are cheerful notes of shortbread and oak spice on the finish. At 19 years old, this whisky is still full of malty character and by no means shows its age. Think of this whisky as a cask strength version of the Midleton Rare, but at almost half the price. With water, the fruit really opens up and flavors of caramel and king sugar begin to unfold. It's a whisky that does justice and honor to the classic Lowland style.
K&L
One of 257 bottles filled in 2016 from a refill hogshead distilled in 1997.
Yours Truly
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Icing sugar, caramel, shortbread.
From The Label
The Bottler: Hunter Laing & Company
| Established: 2010 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Glasgow |
| → website |
Founded in 2010 as a breakaway company from the original Douglas Laing company which retains its original name and headquarters,run by Fred Laing and his daughter Cara. The new company Hunter Lain is headed by Stewart Laing and his 2 sons Scot and Andrew. Brands include Old Malt Cask, Old and Rare, Douglas of Drumlanrig and the Hepburn's Choice series.
from Various Online
The Distillery: Auchentoshan
| Established: 1825 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Dalmuir, Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, G81 4SG, Scotland, UK |
| → website |
2004 - A brand new visitor centre is added to the Auchentoshan distillery.
Auchentoshan is one of only three remaining (active) Lowland distilleries. Together with Bladnoch and Glenkinchie it managed to escape the fate of fellow Lowlanders like Inverleven, Kinclaith, Linlithgow, Ladyburn, Littlemill and Rosebank.
Anyway - let"s get back to the historical facts. Auchentoshan was rebuilt after WWII and aquired by Eadie Cairns in 1969. After another refitting in 1974 the predecessors of current owners Morrison Bowmore (now controlled by Suntory from Japan) bought the distillery in the 1980"s. Suntory already owned Bowmore on Islay and Glen Garioch in the Highlands, so this move made perfect sense. One thing"s certain: they know how to market their whiskies at Suntory. Bowmore and Auchentoshan are both among the "commercial" winners in their own regions - big "brand"s with big reputations.
During most of the 1990"s, the only official expression of Auchentoshan that was widely available was the ten years old. However, around the turn of the millennium the core range of Auchentoshan was expanded with a "Select" expression. It has no age statement, but given the relatively low price it"s probably younger than the ten years old version. Just like the ten years old (and subsequent other versions that were released in the new millennium), the "Select" is a triple distilled malt whisky. That makes the distillery almost unique in Scotland; Hazelburn from Springbank is triple distilled too.
If you"re drinking single malt whisky because you like a drink with more character and personality than the average blended whisky, you have no business with the "standard" Auchentoshan 10yo, if you ask me. And if you don"t care about individuality and style you might as well save yourself some money and stick to blends...
But hey, that"s just my opinion. If this is the way you like your whiskies, feel free to enjoy them as much as you possibly can. That being said, I like the Auchentoshan "Three Wood" quite a bit and I"ve heard some great things about some older expressions in their 20"s and 30"s.
Founded in 1800 and located just North of Glasgow, Auchentoshan seems like a distillery that could attract tourists, but for a long time it didn"t have any facilities to accommodate visitors. Too bad, because Auchentoshan has an interesting "feature": Just like most other Lowland whiskies, Auchentoshan is triple distilled - as opposed to the "normal" double distillation that"s customary in the other regions. Fortunately, the most accessible Lowland distillery (it"s located just a short taxi trip from Glasgow, just like Glengoyne) now also has a visitor centre. I haven"t visited the distillery myself yet, but the first reports I"ve heard about the visitor centre were quite positive.
According to the text on the label of the 10yo, "triple-distillation gives... a very light and delicate character with a sweetness and fruity flavour enjoyed even by those unaccustomed to fine malts". That"s one way of putting it, I guess. "A single malt for blend drinkers" would be another.
In the new millenium
2002 - Auchentoshan releases the darker "Three Wood" that seems to be their interpretation on the woody, smoky Bowmore "Darkest" from their sister distillery on Islay. A 21 years old expression was also added to the core range not long afterwards...
2008 - The distillery website is expanded with a blog (which is updated only a few times each year...)
Trivia:
- The source of the name Auchentoshan is Gaelic. It means "corner of the field". Yeah, I know - it sounds considerably more impressive in Gaelic ;-)
- Auchentoshan was probably started by Irish settlers, driven from their homes by famine. Some claim that they brought the Irish custom of triple distillation with them.
- For a long time Auchentoshan didn"t have a visitor"s centre. That has now changed - and according to reports from fellow malt maniac Peter Silver it"s great. Given their location near Glasgow and the fact that Auchentoshan is one of only three surviving Lowland distilleries (the nearby Glengoyne distillery considers itself a Highland distillery) they should attract plenty of visitors.
from Malt Madness
The Owner: Morrison Bowmore Distillers
| Established: 1951 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Springburn Bond, Carlisle Street, Glasgow G21 1EQ, United Kingdom |
| → website |
With three Malt Whisky Distilleries situated in the major production areas of Islay, the Highlands and the Lowlands and significant blending, bottling and warehousing facilities, the company has established a leading role in the export of Bulk blend, Vatted Malt and in particular `Bottled in Scotland" Blends and Single Malts.
Morrison Bowmore Distillers acquired Bowmore in 1963, Glen Garioch in the early 70s and Auchentoshan in the 80s. Suntory acquired Morrison Bowmore Distillers and its distilleries in 1994.
Founded in 1951 by Mr Stanley P Morrison and Mr J Howat, Morrison Bowmore Distillers Limited is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Suntory Limited and is one of the major names in Scotch whisky.
from Morrison Bowmore Distillers, Malt Maniacs
The Owner: Suntory
| Established: 1899 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Daiba 2-3-3, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 135-8631, Japan |
| → website |
In 2003, Suntory acquired a 98.5% equity holding in Florigene. Prior to this, Florigene had been a subsidiary of global agrochemicals giant Nufarm Limited since 1999. In July 2004, Suntory and Florigene scientists announced to the world the development of the first roses containing blue pigment, an important step toward the creation of a truly blue colored rose.
On April 1, 2009, Suntory became a stockholding company named "Suntory Holdings Limited and established "Suntory Beverage and Food Limited", "Suntory Products Limited", "Suntory Wellness Limited ", "Suntory Liquors Limited", "Suntory Beer & Spirits Limited", "Suntory Wine International Limited", and "Suntory Business Expert Limited".
From the early 1990s, Suntory has collaborated extensively with Melbourne biotechnology firm Florigene to genetically engineer the world"s first true blue rose, a symbol often associated with the impossible or unattainable. In 1991, the team won the intense global race to isolate the gene responsible for blue flowers, and has since developed a range of genetically modified flowers expressing colors in the blue spectrum, as well as a number of other breakthroughs extending the vase life of cut flowers.
Suntory was started by Torii Shinjiro, who first opened his store Torii Shoten in Osaka on February 1, 1899, to sell imported wines. In 1907, the store began selling a sweet tasting red wine called Akadama Port Wine. The store became the Kotobukiya company in 1921 to further expand its business. In December 1924, Yamazaki Distillery, the first Japanese whisky distillery, began its production of malt whisky. Five years later Suntory Whisky Sirofuda (White Label), the first single malt whisky made in Japan, was sold.
Due to wartime shortage of World War II, Kotobukiya was briefly forced to halt its development of new products. In 1961, Kotobukiya launched the famous "Drink Tory"s (Whisky) and Go to Hawaii" campaign. At the time, a trip abroad was considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In 1963, Kotobukiya changed its name to "Suntory", taken from the name of the famous whisky it produces. In the same year, Musashino Beer Factory began its production of the Suntory Beer. In 1997, the company became Japan"s sole bottler, distributor, and licensee of Pepsi products.
Suntory is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains. Suntory is headquartered in Dojimahama Nichome, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka prefecture.
Trivia:
- On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced that it is negotiating with Suntory on a merger. On February 8, 2010, it was announced that negotations between the two were terminated.
- Suntory was one of the first Asian companies to specifically employ American celebrities to market their product. One of the most notable is Sammy Davis, Jr., who appeared in a series of memorable Suntory commercials in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, Akira Kurosawa directed a famous series of commercials featuring American celebrities on the set of his film Kagemusha. One of these featured Francis Ford Coppola (an executive producer of the film), which later inspired his daughter Sofia Coppola in her writing of Lost in Translation, a film which focuses on an American actor filming a Suntory commercial in Tokyo.
- Suntory operates two museums, the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo and the Suntory Museum Tempozan in Osaka, in addition to a number of cultural and social programs across Japan.
- There is a top Japanese rugby club called the Suntory Sungoliath owned by the Suntory company.
from Wikipedia