Number of bottlings sampled and approved for human consumption:  3
 

Auchroisk (Singleton) 10yo (43%, OB, bottled +/- 2000, 100cl, code 3672 / LLNL00800236)
Nose: Mega-fruity at first. Spicy. Levels out after a minute, becoming more spirity.
Malty with a hint of sherry. Furniture wax. None of the liquorice/aniseed I found in the 1981.
Notable improvement after 10 minutes & some water; more toffee and subtle sweetness.
Taste: Very alcoholic. Quite sharp. Hint of fruit. Little depth; flat. Sour, unbalanced finish.
Score: 75 points. The nose is decent, but the taste isn't. Bad cask(s)? Very average.
 

Auchroisk 11yo 1989/2001 Port Finish (43%, Chieftain's, 70cl, code L1208BB 3 12 09)
(Distilled September 1989, Casks #90191/90192, Port Finish, 1944 bottles bottled in June 2001).
Nose: Oooh, that's nice... Lots of fruit and a little peat. Some smoke.
Sweet, overwhelming aroma. Deep woody notes. Great finishing job!
The complexity grows over time, gaining more peaty notes.
Taste: Sadly, it doesn't match the great nose. Watery fruits.
Dry, winey center with intruiging fruity episodes. Very woody finish.
Score: 81 points. An upper 80's nose and a lower 70's palate. Overall, it performed remarkably well.

Auchroisk (Singleton) 1981 (43%, OB, 100cl, code 2999)
Nose: Very characteristic aroma with licorice and aniseed. Just enough sherry.
Remarkable, it even invoked vague impressions of 'Pernod'. Easy to spot in a blind line-up.
Taste: A slow start, but when you give it time it unfolds beatifully and reaches deep into your throat.
Score: 80 points. A very nice autumn-malt; make sure to buy a bottle if you can find it.
 

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According to the label, 'Auchroisk' means 'Ford across the red stream'. Isn't Gaelic a wonderfully compact language? The distillery was the fourth to be built by Justerini & Brooks. At the time IDV/J&B also owned Glen Spey, Knockando and Strathmill. They only bought the property after Dorie's Well was discovered there - by accident, it seems. Test-distillations with the water from the well at Glen Spey distillery were succesfull so they went ahead with construction. Auchroisk was built for the purpose of producing malt whisky for blending. Even though the bulk of the malt whisky produced at the distillery is still used for the J&B blends Auchroisk is widely available as a single malt these days.

Auchroisk is one of the youngest distilleries in Scotland.
It was founded in 1974 and their first single malt was sold at a barely legal age in the UK in 1978. That sort of makes it the Arran of it's day, I guess. The official bottlings have been marketed under the name 'The Singleton' since 1986, probably because they deemed Auchroisk to be too much of a tongue twister for the average 2nd millennium punter.

Apparently, the Singleton of Auchroisk is very popular in Japan. And why shouldn't it be? I've tried far worse whiskies in my search for the perfect single malt whisky. In fact, based on my experiences so far I'd have to say Auchroisk single malts tend to outclass the product of neighboring distilleries like Glentauchers, Strathisla and Strathmill.

It seems they've switched to the name 'Auchroisk' recently.
They probably figured the average 3d millennium customer is sophisticated enough to be able to order an Auchroisk without embarrassing himself...

I've noticed one odd thing about the official bottlings, though. Somehow all the corks seem to shrink and dry out very quickly after the bottle has been opened. So, drink up quickly...

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