The Singleton Single Malt ScotchWhisky
Mulben Highland
EB55 6XS Scotland
Viewer's Comments about The Singleton

The Singleton single malt is distilled at Auchroisk Distillery which is located between Aberlour and Keith on Highway A95. The malt was changed to "Singleton" because of the anticipated difficulty, on the part of the consumer, of pronouncing the name of the distillery. Auchroisk, pronounced "orth-rusk," means "ford across the red stream" in Gaelic and refers to the Mulben Burn from which the distillery draws its cooling water.

The Auchroisk Distillery was built in 1973 and opened a year later by International Distillers and Vintners. Licensed to Justerini & Brooks who at the time also owned the Glen Spey, Knockando and Strathmill distilleries, its purpose was to contribute to blends particularly J&B Rare. Although Auchroisk is relatively
new, it has amassed numerous awards, both for its product and facilities.

Dorie's Well is the 'gold mine' on the site of the distillery. Its water has been described by Jim Murray as "undeniably sweet, crystal-clear waters" along with "an exceptional water source". The label on Auchroisk 10 year describes the waters from Dorie's Well as "an abundant source of soft, pure springwater, silky feel".

The Auchroisk Distillery is also utilized as an assembly point for all the other Highland distillery malts which contribute to J&B. They are vatted together according to the secret ‘recipe’ and tankered off to the group’s blending centre near Glasgow where they meet up with the Lowland, Islay, Campbeltown and grain whiskies of different ages that comprise the final blend of over 40 whiskies. This returns to cask for a period of marrying before going on to be bottled.

The Singleton's house style has been described as "soft and sweet, sometimes with a hint of spice. After dinner."

Auchroisk Whisky Distillery

The Auchroisk Distillery

The Auchroisk Distillery is situated in a 'striking hilltop location visible from Rothes'. It was built in 1973 in response to the need for blending - in particular to contribute to J&B Rare.

Its water source comes from Dorie's Well and cooling water comes from the Mulben Burn. Justerini & Brooks bought the site of the distillery after they took a sample of the water from the well and completed a 'test distillation' at their Glen Spey Distillery. Based on the results, they purchased the well and the surrounding land and then took measures to secure the well until the distillery was built.

The distillery has eight stainless steel washbacks and eight high necked pot stills which produces a light, elegant spirit. The nearly horizontal lyne arms at the top of the stills where the vapours are funnelled is a detail that probably gives a final tweak to the particularity of Auchroisk’s whisky. American oak bourbon and sherry casks are used and the distillery produces up to 1.5 million million gallons a year.

The Auhroisk Distillery has a visitor centre. Call +44 (0) 1542 860 333 for hours of operation.