Aultmore 9 yo 2011/2020 (48%, Elixir Distillers 'Reserve Casks', six barrels)
I quite this elegant looking wee series. Colour: straw. Nose: nice! Lots of soft, but rather bright honeys, pressed flowers, vapour rubs, pollens, lemon rind, cider apple. Very easy, approachable and pleasantly characterful. Mouth: rather firm and rich upon arrival. Lots of biscuity and bready notes providing richness. White pepper, lanolin, bitter beers, bitter citrus piths and some olive oil. A few tart orchard fruits in the background too, like underripe pears and gooseberry. Finish: medium and on simple wood spices, cereals and apples. Comments: The nose was the best part in my view, and after that it declined ever so slightly. But it remains a quaffable, if simple, wee drop overall, no doubt.
SGP: 451 - 83 points.

Aultmore 2011/2018 (67.5%, Whisky Illuminati 'Solaria series', cask #900367, 1st fill Spanish oak sherry butt, 120 bottles)
Another from this interesting series where they are bottling single casks in small portions over an extended period of time. Just looking at the ABV is making my eyes water… Colour: amber. Nose: all things considered, it wears its strength well, although there is an undeniably bristle of heat. But beyond that, there's a rather nice cakey density to proceedings. Dundee cake, raisins, toffee sauce, coffee and walnut cake, balsamic and various sweet liqueurs. I'd never pick it as an Aultmore but there is some gooey charm about the sherry profile. With water: takes on a meaty edge now, goulash with paprika, red pepper stew, sticky ginger cake and some kind of chocolate covered prunes. Mouth: It's not painfully strong, but it is rather high octane with these rather trebly sweet notes. Earth, tobacco, ruby port, cafe latte, walnut oil and sugary black tea. A rather extractive profile where sweetness and tannin rule. Probably a result of such a high filling strength. Develops some bitter chocolate notes in time. With water: the spice is instantly and impressively magnified now. Lots of cumin, ginger, caraway, fennel and paprika. Some cooking oils and bitter almond syrup. Powerful stuff. Finish: quite long and getting rather beefy, earthy and with more dark chocolate and bitter cocoa notes. Perhaps straying in to 'natural dirtiness' territories. Comments: A whisky that really makes you work, but there are rewards to be had for sure. The overall impression is one of 'potential'. It will certainly be fascinating to see how such a cask develops over another 5-10 years of maturation - especially now it has a bit more head space for oxygen.
SGP: 561 - 83 points.