It seems they've switched to the name 'Auchroisk' again recently.
They probably expected the average 3d millennium customer to be sophisticated
enough to be able to order an Auchroisk without embarrassing himself too much.
So far, observations in the field suggest that this is not the case... Meanwhile,
Diageo now uses the 'singleton' name for 3 different malts in 3 different markets.

Auchroisk is one of the youngest distilleries in Scotland.
It was founded in 1974 and their first single malt whisky was bottled and sold
at a barely legal age in the UK in 1978. That sort of makes it the Arran of it's day,
I guess. Official bottlings have been marketed under the name 'The Singleton'
since 1986, probably because they deemed Auchroisk to be too much of a
tongue twister for the average 2nd millennium punter.

Isn't Gaelic a wonderfully compact language? According to the label, 'Auchroisk' stands for 'shallow ford across the red stream'. The distillery was the fourth to be built by the company Justerini & Brooks. At the time IDV/J&B also owned Glen Spey, Knockando and Strathmill. They only purchased the property after Dorie's Well was discovered there. This discovery was made completely by accident, it seems.

That move may not go down to well in Japan - apparently, the Singleton of Auchroisk was very popular there. And why shouldn't it be? I've tried far worse whiskies in my search for the perfect single malt whisky. In fact, based on my experiences so far I'd have to say that bottlings of Auchroisk single malt whisky tend to outclass the product of neighboring distilleries like (maybe) Glentauchers and (definitely) Strathmill.

I've noticed one odd thing about the official bottlings, though. 'Drink up quickly' is the motto here. Somehow all the corks seem to shrink and dry out very quickly after the bottle has been opened - so they often break or crumble.
 
Needless to say, that doesn't go for the various independent bottlings.
They were produced on different bottling lines.
 
The phrase 'Singleton' has been used in the distant past to earmark exceptional whiskies from a specific distillery, vintage and cask. The Auchroisks that were bottled under the 'Singleton' name were not single cask bottlings, but in the beginning all of them had a vintage printed on the label. Later expressions with an age statement became available as well; I've had 10yo and 12yo expressions on my shelves in the 1990's.
 
The 'Singleton' name has since been abandoned completely.
The closest things to a proper official bottling are a 10yo 'Flora & Fauna' bottling and a 28yo whisky from 1974 in the 'Rare Malts' range. Sometimes independent bottlings like the 26yo bottling from Signatory Vintage are released - but those are relatively rare. Based on my experiences so far, most are not really worth the trouble of tracking down a bottle, but even the most modest distillery can have a few magical casks stacked away somewhere.

Test-distillations with the water from the well at Glen Spey distillery were succesfull so they went ahead with construction. Auchroisk was built for the purpose of producing malt whisky for blending. Even though the bulk of the malt whisky produced at the distillery is still used for the J&B blends (over 90% of it, I've been told) Auchroisk was widely available as a single malt during the 1990's. Its visibility as a brand has decreased in recent years - perhaps due to the fact that Diageo now uses the old 'Singleton' name for three different single malts that are marketed in three different markets; the Glendullan 12yo for the USA, the Dufftown 12yo for Europe and the Glen Ord 12yo for Asia.

1) Auchroisk's futuristic architecture (well, futuristic for a distillery anyway) has won several awards.
Most other distilleries (with some exceptions like Arran, Allt A Bhainne and Deanston) were built in the 18th or 19th century and it often shows...

2) Auchroisk uses a rather unique system to prevent their washbacks from overflowing.
Instead of large rotating 'spoons' that are present at most other distilleries they use a chemical compound that is automatically released once the foam on the wash reaches a certain level.

3) The old steam machine that decorates the offices of Auchroisk used to operate the Strathmill distillery.

The first version I ever tried was the Auchroisk (Singleton) 1981 (43%, OB, 100cl, code 2999).
I'm not completely sure when it was bottled, but my best guess would be in the mid-1990's.
Nose: Very characteristic aroma with licorice and aniseed. Just enough sherry for my tastes.
Remarkable, it even invoked vague impressions of 'Pernod'. Easy to spot in a blind line-up.
Taste: A slow start, but given time it unfolds beatifully and reaches deep into your throat.
Score: 80 points - A very nice autumn-malt; make sure to buy a bottle if you can find it.

I sampled the Auchroisk 1975 (40%, OB, 5cl), Bottled 1980's?) during Feis Ile 2005.
Nose: Started off quite sharp with mint and hints of sherry. Paint thinner. Sweetish. Spicy.
Taste: At first it reminded me of stale beer - not a taste I particulary enjoy, I have to say
Over time it improves a little - especially after some odd sherry notes joined the party.
Score: 69 points - I couldn't go any higher; this is most definitely 'questionable' stuff.
Please note that it was an old miniature - some oxidation may have taken place here.

I tasted the Auchroisk (Singleton) 10yo (43%, OB, bottled +/- 2000, 100cl) in 2002.
Nose: Mega-fruity at first. Spicy. Levels out after a minute, becoming more spirity.
Malty with a hint of sherry. Furniture wax. None of the liquorice/aniseed I found in the 1981.
Notable improvement after 10 minutes & some water; more toffee and subtle sweetness.
Taste: Very alcoholic. Quite sharp. Hint of fruit. Little depth; flat. Sour, unbalanced finish.
Score: 75 points - the nose is decent, but the taste isn't. Bad cask(s)? Very average.

I imagine the Auchroisk (Singleton) 12yo (43%, OB) was bottled around the year 2000.
That would mean it's a contemporary bottle to the 10yo I mentioned earlier, but I'm not sure.
Determining when these OB's were bottled is difficult; Older bottlings were released as vintages.
Nose: Pretty much as I expected; Malty and a little fruity - not overly sherried. Just right...
It seems to grow fruitier and fruitier over time. The character is that of a rather young malt.
Taste: The profile on the palate was very similar to that of the nose; sweet, malty and fruity.
This is a solid malt; nothing especially remarkable to find, but a perfect sipping whisky.
Score: 78 points - better than average.

The Auchroisk 11yo 1989/2001 Port Finish (43%, Chieftain's, 70cl, Casks #90191/90192) was distilled in September 1989, bottled in June 2001 and finished in port casks. No more than 1944 bottles were filled.
Nose: Oooh, that's nice... Lots of fruit and a little peat. Some smoke in there as well.
Sweet, overwhelming aroma. Deep woody notes. They did a great finishing job here!
The complexity grows over time, gaining more peaty notes. That's something I like!
Taste: Sadly, it doesn't match the great nose. Watery fruits. It powers up, though.
Dry, winey center with intruiging fruity episodes. It all ends in a very woody finish.
Score: 81 points - it matches an upper 80's nose with a lower 70's palate.
Overall, it performed quite well - it beats all the OB's I've tried so far.

My last discovery was the Auchroisk 11yo 1993/2004 (46%, MMcD Maverick, Bourbon/Port).
It caught my eye when I was at De Still with Robert Karlsson in July 2005 to share a dram.
Nose: Extremely rich and fruity; this Auchroisk wears its finished hearton its sleave.
Sweet and farmy with some lovely organics. Funky, but a highly enjoyable dram.
Taste: Quite rich on the palate as well; hints of coffee and 'speculaas'. Overwhelming.
Unfortunately, it grows quite gritty towards the finish. Not for purists, but a lot of fun.
Score: 80 points - although this one might offend members of the wine brigade.
 

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Auchroisk I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most malts I've sampled and scored - but finding notes on a specific expression could be tricky. You might want to use the search box at the top of this page for that. The mAlmanac now contains personal selections of the best and the worst single malts I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value.

But those are all just my own, purely personal opinions. On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the distillery. Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.