Aultmore Distillery

Built in 1896 near the city of Keith in the Speyside region of Scotland, Aultmore was founded by established distillery owner Alexander Edward. Before building Aultmore Edward was already the owner of Benrinnes and co-founder of Craigellachie distilleries. Production began at Aultmore in 1897, and within a year of starting up had doubled in capacity.

However, this optimistic start was hurt by the influence of world events. The distillery was forced to close during WWI because of barley shortages, as many others did. Despite trying to hold on through lean times, Alexander Edward ultimately sold Aultmore to John Dewar & Sons in 1923.

Ownership and management would change hands several times in the years to follow. John Dewar & Sons became part of Distillers Company Limited in 1925, which was itself ultimately absorbed into Diageo. In 1998 Aultmore distillery came into the ownership of Bacardi.

Despite being founded at the end of the 19 th century the modern appearance of Aultmore bears more in common with fellow Speyside distilleries Auchroisk and Allt-a-Bhainne. That’s because in 1971 it was completely rebuilt, and none of the original distillery buildings now remain. At the same time as this revamp the number of stills at Aultmore was increased from two to four.

Along with the two pairs of wash and spirit stills, the distillery also has six larch washbacks. Since 2008 it runs seven days a week and produces 3.2 million litres of spirit a year.

Throughout the 20 th century Aultmore single malts were a rare find, with almost no official bottlings released. The bulk of the distillery’s production during this time was going into blended whiskies. That said, a number of independent bottlings could be found.

The core range of Aultmore under Bacardi’s ownership is its 12 year old single malt released in 2014. This is fruity, with notes of apple, pears, and milky coffee on the nose and the palate. It has a floral finish that fades to lingering spices. A trio of 22 year old Wine Cask Expressions were released for duty free sale in 2019. Each spent 11 years maturing in ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks before spending another 11 years in ex-wine cask of either Super Tuscan, Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Moscatel.