|
Home
Thousands of tastings,
all the music,
all the rambligs
and all the fun
(hopefully!)
Whiskyfun.com
Guaranteed ad-free
copyright 2002-2024
|
|
|
Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
|
|
|
|
September 13, 2024 |
|
|
Quick, a few Aultmore
We quite like Aultmore, we'll enjoy them gradually.
Patchouli (Wiki)
|
|
|
Aultmore 9 yo (46%, James Eadie, Small Batch, first fill bourbon and refill barrels, 1119 bottles, 2024)
According to the label, it seems like a bottling meant for the Vatican, doesn’t it? You might laugh, but WF does have readers in the Vatican. Okay, one reader, and apparently a loyal one at that. Colour: straw. Nose: exactly like a young Speysider matured in fine American oak. Candle wax (perhaps for the Vatican), vanilla, sourdough, banana skin, and very fresh brioche (still alive and kicking). Very charming, amen. Mouth: a bit rougher, more herbal, with apple peelings, Nescafé, fresh branches, and a fair amount of yeast and vanilla sugar. Perhaps not entirely certain of itself. Finish: rather long, with some lemon appearing but not quite managing to bring order this time around. Still, there’s that Nescafé in the aftertaste and a touch of bitterness. Comments: pleasant but slightly off the usual James Eadie mark for me. They did have an 8 yo that was more to my liking (WF 83).
SGP:571 - 80 points. |
|
Aultmore 11 yo 2013/2024 (55.4%, Lady of the Glen, hogshead and rum cask finish, cask #300445, 272 bottles)
As long as the rum stays discreet... Colour: white wine. Nose: the rum isn’t going to change the Earth's rotation here. Very young malt, barley, hints of oranges and bananas, but everything is very, very discreet, almost shy. Almost reminiscent of Jameson. With water: dough, grist, flour. Mouth (neat): it goes down well, with oranges and pink grapefruits. Nothing to complain about, it’s fresh, it’s simple, it does the job. With water: same story, it does the job. A nice citrusy touch. Finish: same. A bit of yoghurt, then green pepper. Comments: it’s good.
SGP:551 - 81 points. |
|
Aultmore 17 yo 2007/2024 ‘Exceptional Cask’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage ‘100 Proof Edition 1’, 1st fill oloroso butt)
So many promises! Colour: darker gold. Nose: I get it. Pure oloroso and walnut wine, plus cigars and a few prunes. No need to overdo it (I mean us, not the whisky). With water: water from the Guadalquivir. Just kidding. Old walnuts, pine bark, cocoa pods. Mouth (neat): indeed an earthy sherry, but also spicy, with bitter oranges and cardamom. Bitter almonds too. With water: the raw chocolate returns. Coffee isn’t far off but doesn’t quite reveal itself. Finish: long and oddly salty, like an amontillado from Sanlúcar. Comments: joking aside, we know that Aultmore takes sherry particularly well, but it still needs to be good sherry. And it is, there’s certainly enough here to have some fun with your pipette and your mineral water – but not too mineral, while still being sufficiently mineral. Right.
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
Let’s find an old barrel to finish up (and no, we’re not talking about one of our old friends from Glasgow or Edinburgh)... |
|
Aultmore 1992/2023 (45%, Malts of Scotland, Rare Casks, bourbon barrel, cask #MoS 23023, 175 bottles)
Such a cask surely doesn't come by every day. Imagine, 30 years, or perhaps 31. Colour: pale gold. Nose: very reminiscent of that Strathmill 1988 MoS we had the other day. Lots of delicacy here, herbal teas, patchouli, a fresh pack of bidis straight from Goa (or wherever that may be), wilted rose petals, baked apples with butter, and pears poached in sweet wine... This is absolutely gorgeous, like an Impressionist landscape, showing no signs of fatigue at this point. Mouth: exactly the same, only with a bit more firmness. Orchard apples, various plums, a touch of grapefruit, a hint of myrtle, a bit of wormwood and verbena, and those notes of dried flowers. A little barley sugar brings roundness, along with even a few drops of pear liqueur. Finish: not immensely long, but elegant and refined. Apple and pear compote with a touch of cinnamon. Comments: I love this slightly improbable, thoroughly unexpected old malt. Bravo, MoS, it's superb. To sip while reading Goethe (jawohl).
SGP: 561 - 90 points. |
A little bonus pour the road… |
|
Aultmore 17 yo 2006/2023 (52.3%, Maltbarn, Circles, sherry cask, 113 bottles)
This one slipped through my fingers, but we’ll soon set that right. Colour: gold. Nose: pleasant, in the style of Macallan (oops), very, very lightly smoky, with a basaltic edge, then malt, coffee, roasted pecans, and a few spent matches. This isn’t exactly Duke Ellington’s big band. With water: aubergines and used fireworks. Well, you get the picture. Mouth (neat): rather oily, but with a quirky side, mutton suet, black pepper, grilled gingerbread, and more spent matches. With water: it returns to a more righteous path, but that plasticine note remains quite prominent. Finish: rather long. Artichokes, Angostura bitters… Comments: not bad at all, but it ‘clicks’ with me less than the vast majority of Maltbarn’s whiskies. The sherry has introduced a slightly disjointed and sulphury note here. Well, in my very humble opinion.
SGP: 461 - 81 points. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|