The team behind the Bartenders’ Malt is called The New Malt Order, and each member won the privilege in a whisky cocktail contest. Bartender Tommy Klus of Portland, OR, told The Drink Nation, “It’s something I always dreamed of doing... it’s a bartender’s fantasy. We’re always making drinks, they’re always making whiskies, and I wondered if there would be parallels. Can we think of a whisky the same way we think of a cocktail? We had a panel talking about what we liked in whisky, what we wanted to find, and what we wanted to highlight.” Together they picked the barrel blend, age expressions, and proof that made the single malt whisky.

The team also had its hands in almost every aspect of development, including the presentation of the bottle, label, and box. A portion of the time spent in Glasgow was devoted to design courses, and the resulting look was definitively Auchentoshan, while also being unique to the New Malt Order’s vision.

The end result is representative of Auchentoshan’s declaration of “Distilled Different”, an unpeated, triple distilled whisky matured in a diversity of oak, including American and European, as well as sherry casks. At 47% it’s able to be sipped without overwhelming the drinker, but also able to stand up to usage in cocktails. Importantly, the team selected an expression that would be affordable enough for scotch fans as well as casual drinkers to reasonably order at the bar.