James MacArthur Aultmore Tasting Notes

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Aultmore 1989 (14 year old) 60.5%

Sherry Cask/ Dist: 1989 Btl: 2003/ Tasted: Dec 2006

Delicate and youthful. A lovely mix of sherry fruit and perfumed floral notes, later the classic cerealness comes to the fore followed by earthy vanilla and liquid honey.

Clean and youthful on the palate with sherry fruit and gentle spices, ginger (?). Quite floral and tangy on the middle and lots of alcohol – This one certainly needs a drop of water.

When diluted it really opens out emphasising the perfume and honied malt on the nose. On the palate it becomes really yummy! It’s now soft and delicious with honied fruits , sherry and some soft spice.

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Aultmore 1997 (14 year old) 54.8%

Bourbon cask 3592/ Dist: Dec 1997 Btl: 2011/ Tasted: Mar 2012

A lovely, gristy and crisply honeyed nose of wonderfully fresh citrus. A text book Speyside aroma. The palate is crisp and gristy, again with some lovely granite infused honey along with hints of citrus and grass. Long and mouth-filling with a touch of straw in the finish. A lovely aperitif malt.

A drop of water bring out the natural oils on the nose but does subdue it a little. On the palate it softens and rounds allowing the barley to shine along with a touch of creaminess from the oak, which balances the crispness quite well.

MacPhail’s Aultmore Tasting Notes

Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Aultmore 1995 (14 year old) 43%

Re-Fill Bourbon/ Dist: July 1995 Btl: July 2009/ Tasted: Aug 2010

A fresh, citrus nose with no shortage of bubblegum oak. Quite alcoholic with a touch of honey and a pleasantly floral nuance. The palate is much like the nose, light, grassy and citrusy, a bit woody on the middle and the alcohol is very intrusive even at 43%. Slightly gristy with hints of barley and a very hot finish.

I don’t normally put a drop of water with a 43%’er but I thought it might mitigate the intrusive alcohol, which it does but it becomes horribly sweet, sugary and sloppy!

Douglas McGibbon Aultmore Tasting Notes

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Aultmore 2008 (5 year old) ‘1000^th Bottling Edition’ 50%

Two Dark Sherry Casks/ Code: PRV1000/ Dist: Jun 2008 Btl: Feb 2014/ Tasted: Mar 2014

A luscious and juicy nose of walnuts, Oloroso sherry, very perfumed orange and dried fruit.

The palate opens with the soft, raisinated fruit and dried orange/ tangerine. Quite sweet with hints of smoke and walnuts. Very sherried and very clean with a long, nutty, dried fruit finish. I know that loads of whisky drinkers love this sort of stuff but for the 1000^th bottling I would have expected something that at least had some distillery character. Yes, I know! Picky!

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Aultmore 2000 (10 year old)

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV0717/ DMG7477

Dist: Nov 2000 Btl: Aug 2011/ Tasted: Aug 2011

A fresh nose of high toned, youthful cereal and grass with hints of apple and pear. The aromas are reminiscent of a cloudy/ traditional cider.

The palate is quite sweet and gristy. A touch confected with grass and fresh citrus. Good length with some youthful cereal on the finish. Pleasant.

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Aultmore 2000 (11 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: PRV0751/ DMG7772

Dist Nov 2000 Btl: Dec 2011/ Tasted: Dec 2011

Quite an oily nose. Earthy with an almost phenolic character. With time some herbalness becomes evident and the oak becomes more assertive.

Quite full and very, very oily. Again quite earthy with a decaying marc-like vegetal note. I wonder if some foreshots have crept in here. Not exactly what you might call harmonious with some tart citrus and juniper notes in the finish. A tad on the raw side.

Douglas Laing Provenance Aultmore 2011 (6 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV1337/ DL12072

Dist: May 2011 Btl: Aug 2017/ Tasted: Oct 2017

Young and slightly feinty, actually it’s very feinty. Maybe some subtle barley but that’s about it!

The palate opens with subtly sweet barley and thankfully less of the feintiness! Not much oak but a touch of citrus. Good length with lingering barley and a touch of spice.

Duncan Taylor Aultmore Tasting Notes

Duncan Taylor Whisky Galore Aultmore 1987 (15 year old) 46%

Bourbon Cask 2846/ Dist: 1987 Btl: 2002/ Tasted: Feb 2005

An interesting nose, youthful and heady with cereal fruits heavily laden with oily aromas, a hint of earthiness and a nice touch of sweet creamy oak. Dry on the palate, medium bodied, with lots of deep, mouthfilling, oily cereal fruit. Nicely balanced with a touch of sea air and a tangy shimmer. Lovely length with a slight earthy note.

 

 Duncan Taylor Whisky Galore Aultmore 1989 (15 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry/ Dist: 1989 Btl: 2004/ Tasted: Mar 2005

Smooth and earthy on the nose. Dry, nutty with vanilla oak and sweet refill sherry coming through. It opens up to display a perfumed note. Smooth, light and dry on the palate with nutty sherried fruit. Very salty on the middle with a suggestion of spice. Lovely length with a slight floral note. Not so cerealy in character as some bottlings but with bags of charm and flavour.

Dewar Rattray Aultmore Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Aultmore 1990 (16 year old) 57.9%

Sherry Cask 3626/ Dist: May 1990 Btl: Mar 2007/ Tasted: Sept 2007

Initially a bit vegetal on the nose although this blows off quiet quickly. Another first fill sherry monster. Hugely Oloroso with chocolate/ coffee, mature honey and a violet top note. Water brings back the vegetal note along with beeswax and lanolin.

The palate is pleasant and soft, Oloroso fruits, dried fruit and mature honey. Quite oily and sherried! Like the nose water brings out the vegetal notes, green nuts and coffee. The finish is full of intensely green nuts and veg! Water brings out a bucket load of cinnamon and a touch of cayenne pepper.

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Aultmore 1991 (22 year old) 57.5%

Bourbon Cask 6078/ Dist: Oct 1991 Btl: Apr 2014/ Tasted: May 2014

A crisp and lively nose of white fruit, citrus, taught and sinewy honey. Pleasantly mature with the fruit becoming slightly perfumed. Notes of mature oak, straw, crisp barley and leafy herbs emerge.

The palate displays that taught honey character along with some lightly coffee’d oak and malt. The alcohol is quite drying and masks what appears to be some luscious orange. That is a seriously dying finish!

A drop of water emphasises the maturity on the nose, with a distinct straw-like character emerging. It’s still quite dry and the luscious citrus is held back by the oak and to a certain degree by its minerality too. The palate is a little watery but still pleasant. Like the nose it feels a lot older now and that latent citrus sort of comes out but the oak still dries the finish. In all honesty this should have been bottled a few years ago.

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Aultmore 1982 (28 year old) 56.1%

Bourbon cask 2214/ Dist: May 1982 Btl: Feb 2011/ Tasted: Feb 2011

A suburb nose of herbal mature honey, which has an almost light sherry dénouement. The depth of dusty, liquid honey is sublime and hidden within are some delightful almost rye like grains and crisp barley. The American oak begins to assert itself adding some white chocolate and light coffee notes with time and finally a slight floral note appears. Beautifully balanced and harmonious.

The palate also displays a lovely balance between the mature honey and crunchy barley with the oak coming through in waves of mature vanillins and is only stopped by the piquant alcohol. The mid palate is awash with leafy/herbal/menthol notes and the honey reappears, finishing with a slight perfume. Gorgeously deep and mature!

Water brings out a lovely Satsuma/ orange note on the nose, whilst the palate becomes exceedingly juicy. The mouth becomes coated in a lovely honey/ oak combination. The oak does bitter out the finish a touch and leaves behind a heavy-ish wood spice after taste, so again I opt to take it neat.

Bladnoch Forum Aultmore Tasting Notes

Bladnoch Forum Aultmore 1982 (28 year old) 53.5%

Bourbon Hogshead 2216/ Dist: May 1982 Btl: Aug 2010/ Tasted: Dec 2010

This is an odd nose. It starts with earthy, fern like sherry aromas before turning into an oily Grappa! Slightly musty and dirty with some vanillins and mature honey trying to come through but ultimately failing.

The palate is rigid and tart. Musty with old grass and distant honey. Again it seems like a vapid and dirty alcoholic Grappa which departs the building in a furtive hurry leaving a fusty old wood finish.

With water it sort of tames the nose a bit allowing some oily orange fruit out but that mustiness is all pervasive. On the palate the spirit creaks and dies. Once upon a time the spirit was probably pretty good but alas the wood definitely wasn’t.