Aultmore: From the Cellar with Georgina Mann

When drinking locally, you wouldn’t ever ask for an Aultmore, but for ‘a dram of the Buckie road’. Located in splendid isolation on the route which runs from that fishing port to Keith, it has – until very recently – been a rare bird as a single malt. Join Georgina Mann as we taste 6 expressions from this Speyside distillery, two by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, two other independent bottlings including an old Whisky Galore and the latest Hidden Spirits, and two distillery bottlings, the 12 year old, and 21 year old.

It is easy to dismiss this distillery as a workhorse, little more than a functional plant, but it was, in fact, so highly prized as a blending malt, that it is said that when Bacardi was in the process of buying Dewar’s from Diageo, it was willing to walk away from the deal if Aultmore wasn’t included... Now with its presence on the market as a single malt, we are finally able too see what the distillers and blenders have been keeping to themselves all this time. 

Intensity is what helps to define Aultmore. Its wort is clear, the fermentations long, but its stills are relatively small with downward Lyne arms. Running the stills slow helps to maximise reflux, but the shape also allows some heavier elements to come across. Therefore, in character, it can be said that Aultmore shares some of the same characters as Linkwood – fragrant on the nose, substantial on the tongue.

Tasting notes: Peaches and lemonade. Freshly mown grass is the prominent and signature note that you will find in all Aultmore IB's and OB's alike. A fruity and herbal palate with a spicy, fudge-y, milky-coffee finish ensues. 

On tasting:

• 15ml x Aultmore 12 year old, distillery bottling 46%
• 15ml x Aultmore 14 year old by Whisky Galore (Douglas Laing), old bottling distilled 1989, bottled 2003 46%
• 15ml x Aultmore 10 year old by Hidden Spirits first-fill ex-bourbon 51.3%
  
• 15ml x SMWS 73.75 “Raspberry Atholl Brose", 17 year old refill bourbon hoggy, distilled 1998 56.1%
  
• 15ml x SMWS 73.78 “Zingy, effervescent and intriguing” 14 year old, refill sherry hoggy, distilled 2001 57.6%
  
• 15ml x Aultmore 21 year old, distillery bottling - 46%

When & Where:

At the bar! Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start, located at Whisky & Alement, 270 Russell Street Melbourne.

Waiting list:

If tickets sell out we recommend joining the waiting list. If we receive enough interest for a third event, another event date will be opened up on Thursday 25 March at 7pm or Wednesday 31 March at 7pm.