Singleton of Auchroisk 1981

Auchroisk is a large modern Speyside distillery founded by Justerini & Brooks, which was part of Grand Metropolitan by the time the distillery was completed in 1974. Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to become Diageo in 1997.

Unlike many similar distilleries from the same era, Auchroisk was never intended just for blending - Auchroisk’s malt whisky was officially bottled from the late 1970s and was sold as Singleton of Auchroisk from the mid-1980s until 2001, when Diageo introduced a Flora & Fauna 10-year-old. The Singleton brand was later repurposed without Auchroisk, but Diageo have released small batch limited edition Auchroisks for the Rare Malts and Special Release series. The Flora & Fauna edition remains Auchroisk’s only ongoing official bottling, but independent Auchroisk is abundant, with recent highlights from reliable bottlers including Gordon & MacPhail and the SMWS.

Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.

This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.