Maxxium UK aims to attract a younger market

The company, which includes whiskies​ such as The Famous Grouse, Teachers, Highland Park, Auchentoshan, Jim Beam​ and Glen Garioch in its portfolio, is changing the Auchentoshan brand to become more appealing to a younger audience.

Younger customers

UK brand manager for Maxxium UK​ Jane Ashley said: “The brand is going through a big reposition at the moment, which is really exciting. We are looking to engage younger customers into the brand and into malt whisky.”

She explained the future plans for the brand and how they are looking to think outside of the box: “We are looking to have a signature serve with the latest trend of craft beer so we are working with a brewery called Drygate and playing around with lots of funky flavours.”

“We want to become an iconic, lifestyle brand and so the packaging of the bottles and the distillery itself are going to be redone.”

She added: “It is a really exciting time for the brand and it is bringing distillation to the forefront as the way we do it is different as we use a triple distillation technique.”

Three-step distillation

The three-step distillation at the Auchentoshan distillery in Glasgow begins with the ‘wash still’ which receives 8% alcohol from the washbacks. This is heated to 94°C, which moves the vaporised alcohol up the still and towards the condenser.

In the condenser, the alcohol vapour is condensed using pipes cooled by cold water and this is where the vapour becomes a liquid. This is called low wines.

From here, comes the spirit safe where the condensed spirit is controlled. The spirit is the remnants of the previous distillation combined with the current distillation and is called fore-shots.

However, the fore-shots are recycled through the spirit safe into the feints receiver and after around eight minutes, the spirit runs clear. This is matured into whiskey, known as ‘new make spirit’. It is collected into the intermediate spirit receiver until the alcohol content falls to 80% ABV.

There is then a second cut, often called ‘off spirit’ and the spirit safe is used to divert this cut to be recycled by redistilling.

In the intermediate still, an intermediate spirit is made which is double the strength of the industry average and this spirit enters the spirit still.

In the spirit still, the high strength feints are taken and distilled from 55% up to the Auchentoshan strength of 81% ABV and from here, the whiskey is complete.

Meanwhile, new trends in spirits will be the hot topic at this year’s Future Trends: Spirits event, organised by The Morning Advertiser ​and supported by headline partners Diageo and Schweppes, associate partner Pernod Ricard and bar partners City of London Distillery, Masons, Slingsby and Warner Edwards.

For more information about the event and to book your place, visit www.spiritssummit.co.uk​ .