Auchentoshan distillery

Auchentoshan distillery stands beside the Kilpatrick Hills on the edge of Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire. Its name comes from the Gaelic for ‘corner field’ and the site has been a distillery since 1823. The original corn merchant John Bulloch built the first stills, later joined by his son. After bankruptcy in 1834 the distillery passed through several hands before the MacLachlan brothers took charge in 1877. During the Second World War the Luftwaffe bombed the warehouses by mistake, leaving a bomb crater that now holds cooling water. The distillery is famous for triple distillation, a process that gives its whisky a lighter, sweeter character. A third still called the Intermediate Still raises the spirit to 81% ABV before casking. Most casks are ex-bourbon or ex-sherry butts, with rare releases in French wine barrels. Its 16- and 18-year-old expressions earned double gold at the 2008 San Francisco competition. The 50-year-old single malt, distilled in 1957, remains one of the oldest in Scotland. Visitors find a modern visitor centre and conference rooms built in 2005. Guided tours run daily through the stillhouse and warehouses. The Kilpatrick Hills provide a green backdrop while the Erskine Bridge marks the northern edge of the site. A small pond fills the wartime crater behind the distillery, adding a quiet note to the working whisky landscape.