Auchentoshan Distillery Tour Review[photos]lowland-Scotland
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The first distillery after arriving in Scotland was Auchentoshan Distillery.
We arrived in Glasgow from Osaka, and went about 30 minutes by bus from Glasgow Airport.
At the distillery, we joined a tour with a tasting.
Feeling Auchentoshan’s dedication, and sensing the deliciousness of the whisky as we tasted it while chatting with the guide, we came to love it even more.
Here we introduce our distillery visit with lots of photos.
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Features of Auchentoshan Distillery
Auchentoshan, meaning “corner of the field” in Gaelic.
In the Lowland malt region, the distillery sits on a slope overlooking the River Clyde.
Unusually for Scotch whisky, it still keeps to the Lowland tradition of triple distillation.
By distilling more times, the alcohol content rises and maturation progresses faster, resulting in a mellow, smooth, easy-to-drink whisky.
It’s currently a distillery owned by Beam Suntory.
Location/Access
To get to Auchentoshan Distillery, you can go by train from Glasgow, or by bus from Glasgow International Airport.
We were staying at a hotel right in front of Glasgow International Airport, so we went by bus from Glasgow International Airport.
How to Take the Bus
A recommended app for mastering Glasgow’s buses is “First Bus.”
When you search for where you want to go, it shows you the nearby bus stops and which numbered bus to take.
There’s a bus stop in front of Glasgow International Airport, and you take the 757 bus.
You tell the driver your destination and pay, but “Auchentoshan” didn’t get through, so we managed to convey it by showing a map and so on.
We weren’t sure of the location and got off at a place called “Mountblow Road,” but the easiest to reach is probably the “Great Western Road” bus stop.
Strictly speaking, there’s a bus stop called “North Dalnottar Cemetery” across the big road on the right side of the photo, which is the nearest, but the road is so wide that how to cross it… looks difficult.
Getting off the bus is a little tricky, as there are no announcements, so keep watching the map, and when you get close, press the button and wait at the exit to be sure.
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Distillery Hours / Booking a Tour
The distillery seems to be open Monday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
You can book a tour from the website, so if you want to join a tour, it’s best to book before you go.
For details, please check and book on the website.
The Tour We Joined and Price
The one we joined was The Essential Tour, a tour at £45 per person (about 8,000 yen).
It’s a little pricey, but compared to the regular tour with just one tasting (Origin Tour, £18), the tasting amount is larger and we could drink four.
Apart from that, there’s also a tasting-only tour without the distillery walkthrough.
※ Whisky Tasting £35 (4 drams including 2 hand-filled distillery exclusives)
The tour contents may change, so I’d recommend checking the details on the tour booking page.
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The Distillery’s Exterior
Walking a bit further in from the distillery entrance, a really lovely building comes into view.
That’s the visitor center, so first you check in there.
Due to the bus timing we arrived early, so we took our time looking around the shop.
Tour
While we waited in the visitor center shop, the guide came over, and after some brief instructions at first, the tour started right away.
This time there were two other people joining besides us.
While hearing the distillery’s history and the basics of how it’s made, we first had a drink that Scottish children drink.
It was something like a mix of lemon and apple.
Listening to the guide, we actually toured the inside of the distillery.
Here they use copper washbacks and a wooden mash tun.
Partway through, they served us whisky!! We were surprised to be touring while drinking, lol
When it comes to Auchentoshan’s features, it’s triple distillation. Normally in Scotland, distillation is done twice. Distilling three times apparently gives it a mellow flavor.
The exterior glimpsed along the way was cute too!!
The explanation of the cask warehouse was really easy to understand too.
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the Tasting
A tasting in an incredibly lovely room.
These are the three kinds we had this time.
In a quiz format, they chatted with us — “what does it taste like?” and “which do you like?” — and it was really fun.
Since it was our first, we couldn’t really express things like what it tasted like, but personally I really loved the Three Wood.
Shop and Bar
After the tour, we bought the souvenirs we’d had our eye on.
There were goods like hats, glasses, and pin badges, and — pricey, but — whiskies you can only buy at the distillery.
There’s a bar next to the shop too. It’s best to ask the staff what they have.
Summary
Auchentoshan Distillery is easy to reach from Glasgow, so it’s a distillery I’d really love anyone going to Glasgow to stop by.
Within the tour, we got to experience a tour overflowing with tremendous passion — their dedication to the whisky, their care for the environment, and more — and our first distillery tour in Scotland had us thoroughly excited.