Lowland Perfection (Auchentoshan)
Auchentoshan is the nearest distillery to Glasgow but it is often criminally overlooked. Dominic Roskrow explains why it warrants closer inspection.
I was visiting a distillery recently when two tourists came in and asked if they could be shown round.Actually they didnât so much ask for a tour but demand one.And when they were told that the distillery was shut they kicked up a fuss.
This being Scotland, they were generously accommodated and a tour was arranged.
The opportunity to walk around a working distillery should never be taken for granted and nor should it be considered a right. It is a privilege that we should cherish.
How many other places of work would allow people to wander round the production areas?
And while some other businesses permit organised tours, not many accommodate thousands of nosey enthusiasts throughout the year.
Iâve been thinking about this a lot,because it wasnât always this way.Distillery tours didnât exist before the late Michael Jackson bowled up one day and asked if he could look round.
I have an endearing mental picture of this Pythonesque moment. Michael,who at the time would have looked like a hippy version of Worzel Gummidge, walks in to the distillery office and asks to look round.âWhat do you mean,look round?âreplies the stillman suspiciously.
âWell, you know, like a distillery tour,â offers Michael.
âI donât think we do tours. Jock, do we do tours? No, sorry mate, thereâs no such thing.â âWell couldnât you invent them so I could go on one?âsays Michael optimistically.
âI suppose we couldâ¦â I donât know where this encounter took place, b.....
To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue
or subscribe to Whisky Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.
You can unlock and read this entire article with 1 of your community tokens by clicking here.
By Dominic Roskrow
Section : Distillery Focus
Page number : 40
