The making of Single Malt Scotch Whisky is governed as much by the law as it is by tradition. So why does Auchentoshan’s flavour stand so far apart?
There are two main answers – the skill of our mash men and still men, and our insistence on time-old methods, such as wooden washbacks and triple distillation for every single drop.
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Auchentoshan’s clean, complex character starts with malted optic barley. Only gently kilned, completely unpeated barley lets the Auchentoshan taste shine through.
Next Stage
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We grind the barley to suit our lauter tun. It’s vital we have evenly milled starch grits – this maximises the amount of starch that converts into sugars during mashing. All this effort means a fresh-tasting, clear wort from the lauter tun.
Next Stage
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We feed the milled, malted barley – and pure water – into our lauter tun, first of all at 63.5°C. The heat helps turn the starches into sugar. After two fillings we are ready for fermentation – the third filling is used as the first water in the next mash.
Next Stage
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Many distilleries prefer the consistency that comes with stainless steel washbacks. We use Oregon pine instead – so the results are always a little different each time. This also means that our mash men need to keep an especially keen eye on everything.
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Distillation takes our fermented liquid from around 8% ABV (alcohol by volume) up to 81%. No other Scottish distillery insists on this for every drop – double distillation usually reaches just 70% ABV.
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Our oak casks have a huge influence on flavour – so we spend a lot of time and money selecting them. We use casks that held bourbon, sherry or fine wines – each lending its own unique flavour.
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