Review: SMWS 73.65 Aultmore Tarts in a Tea House
Truth be told I know very little about Aultmore distillery given its low profile until recently. Now of course the spotlight has been switched on thanks to the current owners and their 'Last Great Malts' range. It's an interesting name suggesting that great malts are no more or reaching the end of their lifespan.
You can read more about the distillery via the official website right here and of course the Last Great Malts here.
For many years Aultmore was only supported by independent bottlers with bulk of its production going into blends. This particular bottle comes from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society that is partial to bottling the odd Aultmore now and again. Indeed this sample was provided by my good friend Mark over at Malt-review who has a growing appreciation of the distillery.
Being constructed in 1895 means that my usual resource of Alfred Barnard is null and void. So in many ways this is a mystery distillery to many, now featuring as a mystery sample. Regulars will know we often swap these closet delights before revealing the source after tasting. It's good fun and I'd encourage others to try it out especially if you can afford the odd bottle rather than living just on miniatures and freebies.
Distillery: Aultmore
Distilled: 31st May 1989
Bottled: 24 years of age
Outturn: 377 bottles
Strength: 55.9%
Cask: refill ex-sherry butt
Colour: Highland toffee chew
Nose: cinnamon, ginger bread and a coating of treacle moving into caramel. Decaying foilage laced with decomposing After Eight mints. Then the distinctive smell of rubbed brass and with more water the coffee notes come through.
Taste: lots more treacle here instead now its on homemade waffles. Rich dark chocolate, lots of sugary maple syrup then its twists and proceeds down the red wine route; blackberries and cherries before leaving you with a lingering woody taste.
A cracking dram from the society and whilst others chase the Islay and peated malts, those in the know will check out bottles such as these. My thanks again to Mark for the mystery sample.