October 21, 2015

Four Aultmore

There’s more Aultmore these days, both from the owners and the indies, which is very cool. Let’s simply have a bunch of them today… Quite loved the new 25 OB (WF 89).

Aultmore 18 yo (46%, OB, batch #481, 2015)

You really got to like the lovely new all-white packaging, that sits right between lovely Laphroaig and lovely Balvenie. Colour: straw. Nose: IPA! Lagunitas or something – I’m still dying to find Lagunitas in France, but I digress – plus some toasted malt, apricot pie that spent a little too much time in the oven, some kind of grassy leather, and some green cardamom and green tea. Rather less fruity than I had expected. Mouth: solid body, and a much balanced arrival, between apples and juicy golden raisins, plus a touch of banana. Rather goes on what we already found in the nose, that is to say green tea, and even raw barley, not too ripe. A feeling of sugarcane (white rum agricole) and, once again ale that reminds me of the 12. Finish: rather long, always quite toasted and grassy at the same time, with some honeyed apple juice in the aftertaste, as well as a salty/peppery touch. Comments: less easy-easy than I had expected, this is pretty firm and even tense. Kind of ‘un-official’, you’d almost believe this is a small-batch bottling by some good indie bottlers. SGP:451 - 85 points.

Aultmore 21 yo (46%, OB, batch #107, 2014)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: akin to the 18, we’re well in the same family, this has just a little more fresh butter and vanilla; plus perhaps a touch of ink. It seems that it is a slightly fatter offering, let’s see… Perhaps a little more mint as well? Mouth: more complex, that is to say fruitier this time. Rather towards oranges and citrons, then quinces. Also rhubarb and gooseberries, and the kind of fruity green tea (not flavoured tea mind you) that I quite enjoy. Just finished a pack of organic Taiwanese wulong that had these kinds of notes. I’m sad it’s empty. Finish: same, a fruitier 18. All for the (even) better if you ask me. Comments: just checking it against the 25… slurp slurp… Yeah, qualities are similar. So, same high score. SGP:551 - 89 points.

Aultmore 25 yo 1990/2015 (57.8%, The Whisky Barrel, Burns Malt, sherry butt, cask #3241)

A heavily sherried one, apparently. We’ve already checked in the past that Aultmore + heavy sherry can be a winning combo. Colour: dark amber. Nose: gather very fresh walnuts, crush, macerate in kirsch, nose. You may add a wee piece of leatherette and a bit of rubber band. And loads of cocoa, we’re actually very close to some super-dry oloroso. With water: when you get up early in the morning and the coffee from the espresso machine is already ready. No you won’t smoke these Cuban cigars, remember we’re early in the morning! Mouth (neat): excellent dry sherry indeed, full of walnut wine, a drop of artichoke liqueur, a lot of chocolate, and a pinch of pipe tobacco. Forgot to mention orange liqueur. Makes me think of the old Macallan CS from fifteen years ago. Quite amazingly, it does not need water. And yet, with water: ultra-classic oloroso-ed development. Very ‘Glendronach’ this time ! Finish: Comments: old Macallan fans should love this baby. Glendronach lovers too. SGP:562 - 90 points.

There’s room for a last one. An older one, of course…

Aultmore 1982/2015 'Apple Mint Mead' (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 247 bottles)

Thirty-two or thirty-three years old, imagine. But were I a whisky bottler (God forbid), I’m not totally sure I’d reduce such an old whisky, I’d keep it at cask strength – unless that strength was 46.00%, naturally. Oh well… I also remember a 1982/2012 by Wemyss that was excellent (WF 89). As for what apple mint mead exactly is, I have no clues (okay, rant over, S.?) Colour: gold. Nose: now I know what apple mint mead is (yeah yeah), it’s something delicately honeyed, full of baked apples, with a touch of candy sugar and just distant whiffs of incense. Or dried rose petals? Mouth: so good. This time we’re in another cluster, the cluster that gathers old malts that got a little fragile, but that did not lose their stamina and their fruits, while having developed very interesting additional aromas. In this case, would you believe this, a blend of gorgonzola and roquefort cheeses. Very small portions of course, but really! There are even pepper crackers. What’s great is that the fruits combine extremely well with those flavours. Finish: rather long, drier. The cheeses are almost gone, but the pepper remains there. Comments: a little unlikely at times (I’m not too much of a cheese guy, mind you), but spectacularly funny. SGP:461 - 87 points.

Check the index of all Aultmore I've tasted so far