Auchentoshan 1999-2008 - 9 Year Old - Murray McDavid

Founded on the western outskirts of Glasgow in 1823, Auchentoshan became part of Morrison Bowmore in 1984 shortly before the company was taken over by Japanese distilling giant Suntory. Auchentoshan was for a while one of only two surviving Lowland distilleries after Rosebank and Bladnoch closed in 1993. Auchentoshan has three stills and practices triple distillation in the classic Lowland style, making a light, easy-drinking whisky so popular that all of its production is bottled as single malt.

Former owners Eadie Cairns bottled both vintage and age statement Auchentoshans in the 1970s and 1980s prior to the distillery’s acquisition by Morrison Bowmore, who added a 21-year-old and the enormously popular Three Wood to the range and released dozens of superb long-aged vintage casks going back to the 1950s. Independent Auchentoshan is easy to find.

Independent whisky bottler Murray McDavid was founded by La Réserve wine merchants Simon Coughlin and Mark Reynier with Gordon Wright from Springbank in 1994. Murray McDavid quickly established themselves in the new wave of indie bottlers, with a string of great whiskies bottled without colouring or chill filtration at a minimum strength of 46%.

After a failed bid for Ardbeg in 1997, Murray McDavid bought Bruichladdich distillery in 2000 and swiftly transformed the rundown distillery’s fortunes, employing Jim McEwan as manager and embracing the wine finishing trend with gusto. In 2012 Murray McDavid & Bruichladdich were bought by Rémy Cointreau, who sold Murray McDavid to Aceo Ltd, another whisky broker and bottling company, the following year.