Aultmore SMWS 73.52 - Speakeasy perkiness

Aultmore was built in 1895 by Alexander Edward, who had helped run Benrinnes and was part-owner of Craigellachie. In 1923 he sold it to John Dewar & Sons, who sold it three years later to DCL, where many years later it became part of the Flora & Fauna range. In 1998 it was sold to Bacardi, who just launched a new 12 year old expression. I have an old 1970s bottling (a 12 year old) tucked away somewhere.

This was distilled on May 31 1989 and matured in a refill sherry butt. 23 years later it yielded 544 bottles.

The colour is a dark copper, almost reddish-brown. On the nose, rich dark fruits, expresso coffee beans, leather and fruitcake. Somewhat meaty. More earthy and herbal with water. Heavily sherried, but elegantly so.

Mouth-drying on the palate, with savoury herbs, mincemeat, dark cherries and tobacco. Star anise. Very fruity and spicy. Water brings out a slightly sulphured note, which is odd as I didn't get that earlier. Challenging but rewarding.

The finish is leathery with plums, cumin and cinnamon. Nicely sherried malt, rich and fun to sip. As with the first bottle I reviewed tonight (an Ardmore), if you love your sherry bombs, here you go. Completely different from the new Aultmore 12 I tried at Spirit of Toronto (which I quite liked).

So, that's all folks. I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I did tasting them. If your mom is lucky, you bought her an SMWS bottle today. If she's not, well all I can say is...Happy Mother's Day!

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