The World’s Most Underrated Scotch—According To A Whisky Expert

Auchentoshan is a storied brand of scotch that struggles to get the recognition it deserves from the whisky industry at large.

Photo illustration: Brad Japhe

Nestled into a verdant meadow, a stone’s throw from the River Clyde, Auchentoshan has been churning out world-class scotch for just over two centuries. The legendary Lowland malt has so many things going for it: a healthy trove of well-matured stock, a unique, triple distillation method of production, and a charming new visitor’s center within 30 minutes of downtown Glasgow.

You could say Auchentoshan’s as easy to love as it is challenging to pronounce (ock-un-tosh-un). A notion evidenced by the trove of coveted hardware these single malts have accumulated at top spirits competitions in recent years: Double Golds in San Francisco, Gold Medal for Distillery Cask – 1997 Oloroso at the Scottish Whisky Awards, and, most recently, “best in category non-age-stated scotch” at the 2024 World Whiskies Awards for the brand’s berry-forward Triple Wood.

It’s difficult to imagine—despite all the storied tradition and success—that Auchentoshan somehow remains under-appreciated here in the US. And yet it’s hard to argue the notion. Widespread distribution across the country eludes the liquid and it’s rarely mentioned in conversation with the usual suspects of scotch superstardom. Though that list contains its sister brands of Laphroaig, Bowmore and Glen Garioch (all owned by the same parent company, Suntory Global Spirits).

In fact, one expert in particular is willing to go so far as to say that Auchentoshan is the world’s most underrated scotch label. And he ought to know a thing or two about the subject. Johnnie Mundell is a scotch fanatic who grew up not far from the distillery’s backyard. He also spent the better part of a decade as a senior ambassador for Suntory whiskies. Today he is a scotch consultant who specializes in shuttling avid enthusiasts across the 151 licensed distilleries of his native land.

No sooner than they’ve collected their luggage off the carousel, Mundell is eager to kick journeys off at the distillery that happens to be closest to Glasgow airport. He even has a particular dram in mind to maximize sense of place.

“Auchentoshan 18 tastes like home,” he says. “The minerality in this expression is superb. I get a flinty flavor, too. It makes me think about swimming in Fallach Falls–a place made famous by the movie Rob Roy.”

There’s certainly a cinematic feel when rolling up on Auchentoshan’s newly revamped visitors center. The smell of hot cereal and damp earth clings low in the air. Guests are welcomed into a century-old alabaster-tinted storehouse. It adjoins the stillhouse and several dunnage warehouses–one of which was destroyed by German bomb raid during World War II. Today, the Auchentoshan Experience affords entrants the opportunity not just to witness this history, but to drink it all in. 90 minute tours cost £35 per person and include four samplings of single malt, hidden at various stops along the way.

Folks who show up with Mundell are treated to an even more in-depth backstory on the River Clyde and its supporting role in the enduring exceptionality of Auchentoshan.

“It’s the backbone, not just of this distillery, but of Glasgow,” he explains. “The city started off as a religious settlement but then it began to expand upon international trade and all these spices coming in and then came the scotch trade, and the proliferation of blending houses. It’s this steady progression that carries all the way through until the Industrial Revolution, when Glasgow becomes one of the ship-building centers of the United Kingdom. As this capital thrives, so too, does its local distillery.”

With Auchentoshan, at least, it’s always been a measured growth. The maltmaker has never overgrown its modest footprint alongside its 19th century riverbank birthplace. This is an operation that prides itself on an unhurried approach. Its triple distillation process–although familiar to Irish whiskey–is an outlier in Scotland and results in a slower-former new make spirit; gentler yet higher in proof .

Today, about 1.5 million liters of that alcohol is entered into barrel. It’s not a colossal quantity. The Macallan, by comparison, will crank out ten times that amount annually. And yet the figure is entirely respectable for an operation that gives nothing to the blended scotch industry.

As for Mundell, he would love to see Auchentoshan 18 get the respect he feels it is owed. Triple distilled and matured exclusively in ex-American bourbon oak, it’s a sophisticated-yet-refreshing Lowland sipper that rests easy in the glass at 86 proof. There’s tobacco leaf and burnt caramel competing for attention in the nose, citrus zest enlivening the mid-palate, and that aforementioned minerality huddling into the slow fade.

It can be argued, of course, whether or not its the most underrated scotch on shelves today. But it’s impossible to deny that this is an eminently elaborate single malt for its $133/bottle asking price.

“I can sit down and talk about this dram, this distillery–this part of the world all day,” adds Mundell. “Thankfully, whenever I long to be back home, it’s never more than a sip away.”