Only a very small percentage of all the malt whisky that is
produced at Aultmore was ever bottled as a single malt;
most of it is still makes it into the Dewar's blends like the
widely available 'White Label'. New owners Bacardi don't
seem to be in a hurry to change that long lived tradition.
Well, based on the bottlings I've sampled so far that might
probably for the best anyway; none of the single malts
scored above average (75 points), so why bother?

Unfortunately, the 'fin de siecle' whisky boom ended not long
afterwards and the whisky production decreased dramatically.
As a result of the crisis Aultmore was closed for a few years.
The distillery opened again around 1903/1904, but not for long.

Aultmore (Gaelic for 'big burn') was named after a nearby river.
It was built just North of Keith by Alexander Edward in 1895/96
and the very first spirit was distilled at Aultmore in early 1897.
Alexander already owned Benrinnes at the time and added Oban
to his collection of distilleries in 1898. The future looked bright...

In 1998, just a little over a century after it was founded,
Aultmore was acquired by current owners Bacardi through
their subsidiary John Dewar & Sons. That's correct; that's
the very same company that bought the distillery in 1923.

Aultmore is clearly a 'blender's malt' - bottlings of Aultmore as a single malt are quite rare.

Aultmore 1989/1999 (50%, John Milroy Golden Strength, 70cl)
Nose: Softly sweet - a little restrained. Fresh, herbal, grassy. A fairly light profile.
A dash of pepper after a while. More honey after some time & water - which is nice...
Taste: Piny. Woody, with a malty undercurrent. Some eucalyptus or camphor, perhaps?
Sweet burn in the centre, which softens with some time and just a few drops of water.
Diluted further to +/- 30%, the sweetness switches on and off. Don't add too much water.
Score: 72 points - in the end I'd have to classify this as 'below average', I'm afraid.

Aultmore 11yo 1985/1997 (43%, Signatory Vintage, bottle #468 of 484 from oak butt #2904, 70cl).
Nose: Grainy start with a good deal of citrus. Spicy. A bit herbal. A whiff of rotting hay.
Spirity at times. Pinch of salt. Medium 'volume' - the lack of sherry wood is obvious.
With water: Perfumy. Vanilla? More flowery and fruity. It becomes fresher all around.
Taste: Smooth and a bit peppery at the same time. Bittersweet. Sherried; a little oily.
Gingerbread? Malty finish, becoming very dry and woody. Big burn in the back of your throat.
Score: 71 points - the paradoxes in the taste make it an interesting malt.

Aultmore 12yo (40%, OB, Bottled early 1990's?)
Nose: Alcoholic and fresh. Herbal. Light and sweet. Faint smoke? Not very expressive.
More fruity and flowery elements with water. It has something sherried as well.
Taste: Light. Smooth and a little sweet. Malty. Maybe just a little floral and perfumy.
Decent burn. Lasting, dry finish. Pleasant but not a malt you'll remember for long.
Score: 69 points - but please note that this sample may have been drawn from an old bottle.

Aultmore 12yo 1989/2001 (43%, Signatory, Butt #2394, Distilled 30/05/89, Bottled 8/10/2001)
Nose: Sweetish. Dry wheat? Other cereals & grains. Faintest hint of something medicinal?
Taste: Something veggy and faintly sweetish. No obvious flaws, but a little bit bland. Sweet finish.
Score: 72 points - which is about as good as these young Aultmores seem to get, apparently.

Aultmore 14yo 1989 (60.5%, James MacArthur)
Nose: Deep & sweet. Sophisticated fruits. More serious over time. What an enjoyable surprise!
Taste: Slow fruity explosion on the palate. Doesn't make a very big first impression but keeps improves.
Score: 86 points - an unexpected surprise and the second best Aultmore I've ever tried.

Aultmore 1991/2005 (46%, Wilson & Morgan).
Nose: Rich & very fruity. Spices. Quite sharp, though - you can't get a nose-full. Rubber, fruit & sherry.
Smoke? Maybe a tad extreme, but that's just how I like it... Based on the nose, I could go for 90 points.
Taste: Sweet, rich and sherried. Quite lovely! Feels very hot - a bit too much? Mega-enjoyable, though.
Score: 88 points - this bottling was matured in sherry wood and it isn't ashamed about it.
A true sherry monster; quite extreme. It pushes all the right buttons for me. Lovely stuff...

Aultmore 15yo 1987 (46%, Whisky Galore, 5cl trade sample)
Nose: Fruity start, growing 'farmy' and slightly sour quickly. Nicely developing organics. Coastal?
Sweetens out with time. Malty, but I noticed something medicinal as well. Some sweat, perhaps?
Taste: Fruity start, then lots of wood opening up into a sweet centre. Feels fresh. Pleasant mouth feel.
Over time it grows extremely smoky. I have to admit that it's a tad too bitter in the finish for me.
Score: 75 points - despite its flaws this malt sort of grew on me over time.
Too smoky on the palate for its own good? The smoke overpowers nearly everything else.
 
 
 
 

Barley shortages during WWI forced the Aultmore distillery to close again.
The distillery was purchased by John Dewar in 1923 and became part of DCL in 1925.
In the early 1950's it was among the first distilleries that experimented with the use
of distillery waste as animal feed. Aultmore was reconstructed and upgraded in 1971,
at which time the number of stills was expanded from two to the current four.

Well... Hold that thought... It's actually quite interesting to see how certain malts
that are quite popular among blenders (Aultmore, Benrinnes, Glen Elgin, Glenlossie,
Glenrothes, Longmorn, etc.) don't seem to inspire a lot of passion in the average
single malt 'connoisseurs', while the product from esteemed and revered distilleries like
Aberlour, Ardmore, Dalmore and Glenmorangie doesn't seem to have a big reputation with blenders.
Fellow malt maniac Charlie MacLean has written an excellent E-pistle in Malt Maniacs #11 about the classification of malt whiskies from a blender's point of view. It's a real eye-opener; did you know that 'cult' Highland malts like Glen Garioch and Lochside are considered '3d class' malts by blenders who would rather use malts like Balmenach, Banff, Benriach, Dalwhinnie, Glenburgie, Glendullan, Glen Keith, Glen Spey, Speyburn or Strathisla in their blends.

Aultmore has always been a 'modern' distillery; as you can see from the picture above
the reconstruction wasn't aimed at preserving a traditional 'picturesque' distillery look.
Shortly after the upgrade of the distillery in 1971, Aultmore was sold on to industry
giants United Distillers, who released a 'semi-official' 12yo Flora & Fauna bottling in
1991 (see picture at the left) and a 'Rare Malts' version in 1996.

Trivia about Aultmore: A 12yo official bottling of Aultmore was released in 2004, the first 'proper' official bottling after two 'semi-official' bottlings; a 12yo 'Flora & Fauna' released in 1991 and a 21yo 'Rare Malts' bottling.