Aultmore | Whisky Lady

Once upon a time you hardly heard of Aultmore… Capitalising on this, the folks over at Bacardi aka John Dewar & Sons created a marketing campaign positioning Aultmore as one of the “Last great malts of Scotland“ known as a “secret dram of locals and Buckie fishermen.”

Late 2014 they began to release three different expressions:

Aultmore is a rare Speyside malt known locally as “a nip of the Buckie Road.” The distillery’s water filters down through the misty, mysterious area called the Foggie Moss. Aultmore is rated top-class and is a dram sought after for its gentle grassy notes. Aultmore will be available from November with a 12- year-old, a 21-year-old in Travel Retail, and a 25-year-old in limited quantities.

By July 2015, this was joined by the 18 year which I picked up for another member at the “World of Whiskies” shop at Heathrow Airport after sampling a nip of the 12 and 21 year… At that time our tasting group had never tried anything from Aultmore so thought – why not?

Here is what we found… naturally tasted blind!

Aultmore ‘Foggie Moss’ 18 year 46%

Colour – Straw
Nose – Blue cheese, very fruity – particularly sweet lemon, seems quite effervescent, “Very nice!” Some jasmine flowers, a little licorice, herbs, mellows into a clean, light, crisp note
Palate – “Nice taste!” Considered more in the laal mirch (red pepper) kind of spice rather than the prick of black peppercorns, a burst of lemon, a bit chewy, a little leather, subtle but very much there…
Finish – A little haldi (turmeric), more of the faint leather… the finish is light but stays, understated but impressive
Water – Much better without water
Speculation – Distinct, didn’t feel like we’ve had it before
Comments – “A bit difficult to grasp initially, yet once you’ve cracked it, beautiful to be with!”

The unveiling – surprise! We actually HAD tried an Aultmore just the previous month – the Aultmore 2000 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail to be precise.

Once we knew the age, we started to speculate that perhaps they use 2nd fill bourbon casks given the light colour. Overall, we were pleasantly pleased and while ‘nice’ may seem a bit tame as a description, it really was quite… well… ‘nice’ in an enjoyable way!

The other whiskies sampled in our November session included:

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Our October tasting session had a theme of ‘go slow’… let the whisky evolve… Each had its unique character and each needed proper time and focused attention to unravel its mysteries.

We also went back to our original ’spit the 1st sip’ approach – helping us better calibrate our palate to appreciate the three distinctly different whiskies.

Our first whisky of the evening was yet another treat from independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail – this time a delicate Speyside from Aultmore.

Aultmore 2000

Aultmore 2000 46% (Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseurs Choice), Bottled in 2014

Colour – Light straw
Nose – Floral fruity, ripe peach, sweet and very inviting, has a sense of being velvety smooth, exceedingly tempting, as it opens a bit of nougat
Palate – Initial ‘1st whisky’ hint of being bitter, then after our first swish & spit, the next sip revealed a delicious honey, mild spice. For once the palate is every bit as good as the nose promised, exceedingly well-balanced, delicate yet still manages to coat the palate from top to bottom, balanced and oh so smooth and creamy
Finish – Some debate as the initial impression was the finish was quite limited… yet still felt satisfying. As we ‘tuned’ ourselves to the nuanced character, began to appreciate that in fact it has a long subtle finish, really quite delicious!
Water – Don’t… Water does not enhance and makes it seem terribly young with a spicy kopra
Impressions – Like a delicate Japanese or Chinese paper cut, very well-rounded, very easy to drink…

Speculation… As we sample blind, we began to assess our thoughts about the whisky. It vaguely reminds of Glenmorangie in its light fruity floral sweet character yet different. Age was a bit difficult to gage – not very young but also not too old. Certainly not more than 16 years… Sense that the alcohol hovered around 43% given its light approachability.

The reveal… Our first as a tasting group from this distillery and yet another ‘hit’ from independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail. It is getting to the stage where we can blindly grab anything from their Connoisseurs Choice line!

Our host shared that he briefly sampled it at a whisky event in Europe. While normally such light whiskies are not his personal preference – this one stood out as something compelling enough to explore further. We agreed!

Knowing it is a light whisky and would be the first of the evening, he chilled the whisky for 45 mins in the fridge before serving to help ensure the viscosity for our tasting.

Our conclusion was that this was the kind of whisky you would just sip on your own while reading a good book, curled up with a cosy blanket on a cool evening. Something to slowly enjoy its subtle range of aromas and taste. It doesn’t need conversation. It doesn’t need company. It is for those times you simply want to relax in quiet comfort.

Here’s what the Gordon & MacPhail folks have to say about this Aultmore:

Matured in a refill American hogshead and refill sherry hogshead. Natural colour. Non chill filtered.

Without Water:

Nose – The whisky has herbal, dried apricot and raisin aromas with hints of charred oak.
Taste – Delicate fruitiness, with red apple and pear flavours. Festive spices and a touch of oiled wood linger.

With Water:

Nose – Toasted malt and sweet summer fruit aromas, blueberry and raspberry. A subtle cinnamon edge lingers.
Taste – Peppery and sweet with hints of green apple and plum. Becomes creamy with a smooth milk chocolate edge.

Previously Aultmore was rarely available as a single malt beyond independent bottlers, instead found as part of popular blends like Dewars.

Some may recall that I tried a couple Aultmores on my July London trip – both the 12 and 21 year – part of Bacardi’s “Last Great Malts of Scotland” range. I was surprised to find them so appealing – and recall being impressed that the promise of the nose followed through on the palate.

I, for one, look forward to both exploring more Aultmore and more from Gordon & MacPhail!

The other whiskies we sampled in October included:

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