Aultmore 2006 13 Year Old Artist Collective La Maison Du Whisky 70cl

Aultmore 2006 13 Year Old Artist Collective La Maison Du Whisky 70cl

Created from two 1st fill sherry hogsheads hence the colour.

A 2006 Aultmore single malt from French indie bottler La Maison du Whisky, matured in a first fill sherry butt for 13 years before being released as part of its Artist Collective series.Aultmore distillery was built in 1896 and powered by a steam engine right up until 1969. Completely rebuilt in the 1970s with nothing of the old buildings left, the faithful engine that once powered the distillery 365 days a year now sits in the distillery's reception. Most of the whisky produced here ends up in Dewar's blends however, more recently, releases have included a 12 Year Old and 18 Year Old single malt making it more common to see their own name on the bottle.La Maison du Whisky, aka LMDW, was founded in 1956 by Georges Benitah and is now one of the largest whisky and rum importers and distributors in France, and known the world over. They opened their first shop in Paris at the legendary 20 Rue d'Anjou in 1968, importing their first Scotch malt whiskies in the 1970s. They are known for their expertise in not only Scotch, but Japanese whisky and rum too, and their collaborative bottlings, as well as their own independent labels like this one, are highly prized.

Tasting Notes

Sweet aromas of apricots, almonds, quince, vanilla, toffee and nectarine fill the nose, followed by black cherry, cocoa, ginger, heather honey and pine needles. The palate initially offers notes lime blossom, lemon verbena, apricot and orange zest, slowly developing malted barley, beeswax, hay, dark chocolate and exotic fruits that linger in the finish.

About Aultmore

Intensity is what helps to define Aultmore. Its wort is clear, the fermentations long, but its stills are relatively small with downward lyne arms. Running the stills slow helps to maximise reflux, but the shape also allows some heavier elements to come across. In character, therefore, Aultmore shares some of the same characters as Linkwood – fragrant on the nose, substantial on the tongue. When drinking locally, you wouldn’t ever ask for an Aultmore, but for ‘a dram of the Buckie road’. Located in splendid isolation on the route which runs from that fishing port to Keith, it has – until very recently – been a rare bird as a single malt. Built by the enterprising Alexander Edward [see Craigellachie in 1896 it was always going to be pressed into service for blends. In 1923 it became part of the John Dewar & Sons estate and has remained so ever since. In fact, so highly prized is it as a blending malt that it is said that when Bacardi was in the process of buying Dewar’s from Diageo, it was willing to walk away from the deal if Aultmore wasn’t included. Completely refurbished in the 1970s it is easy to dismiss as little more than a functional plant, but the character of its single malts, now finally being given an official release, shows what the blenders have been keeping to themselves for all these years.

48% ABV

70cl