Matured in ex-bourbon and PX sherry casks, Auchentoshan 1988 29 Year Old is a rare find and a wonderful addition to any whisky collection. This lovely dram has a colour like that of treacle, and was distilled almost three decades ago in 1988 before being bottled in 2018 at 49.7% ABV. On the nose, resin, teriyaki, pickle and eucalyptus. The palate is liked spiced oil, with hints of charred wood, popcorn and candied ginger before the big finish with an essence of oak, ginger and more teriyaki for a real treat.
Drawn from the finest Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, this 29-year-old Lowland single malt from Auchentoshan has picked up a wealth of character from these casks; notes of red fruits, maple syrup alongside an ongoing sherry influence.
Auchentoshan’s claim to fame is that it is the only distillery in Scotland which exclusively uses triple distillation.
The wash still operates as per normal, while the spirit coming from the intermediate still is split into two, with only the high-strength ‘heads’ being carried forward for the final distillation. The low-strength ‘tails’ are mixed with the next distillation from the wash still.
The ‘heads’ are then mixed with the ‘feints’ from the previous spirit still distillation and a cut with an average strength of 81% is taken. A short fermentation gives Auchentoshan a cereal note which acts as a grounding flavour during maturation as well as balancing the high-toned citric notes. Its high strength means that it can easily be overpowered by oak. Consequently, the older the expression, the more ‘relaxed’ the wood influence is.
Legal whisky-making started here on the banks of the Clyde in 1817 when the Duntocher distillery was built by John Bulloch. Like many early start-ups it had a chequered early history and Bulloch went bankrupt soon after. It wasn’t to put his family off however. His grandson co-founded one of the 19th century’s most famous blending and broking firms, Bulloch Lade.
It was bought in 1834 by John Hart and Alexander Filshie who changed its name to Auchintoshan [sic]. The Filshie’s sold up in 1875 to a local grain merchant and again like so many stills, ‘Auchie’ spent almost a century being passed from one owner to another. During the Clyde Blitz of 1941 a warehouse was hit, sending a stream of blazing whisky into the river. A bomb crater has been turned into the distillery pond.
It was one of a number of distilleries purchased by brewers in the 1960s – in Auchie’s case Glasgow-based Tennant’s were owners from 1960 to 1969 when they offloaded it to a publican, Eadie Cairns. The upgraded distillery was then sold to Stanley P Morrison in 1984. It is now part of Beam Suntory. A new visitor facility was built in 2004.
Unusually, all of its production is used for single malt.
