833
Today I’m reviewing Aultmore’s 5 Year Single Cask bottling by Master of Malt. Before the recent release of the Aultmore OB Range (which I have yet to come across), this was a relatively unknown Speyside distillery that was mostly used in blends. It’s owned by Dewars so I assume that they use it in a great number of their blended products. This is by far, the youngest and highest proofed single malt I’ve tried aside from a few new make spirits.
| Category | Notes |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Amber -1, which is surprising considered that this is first-fill sherry matured. I guess the color really starts to show around the 7-10 year mark. |
| Nose | Sharp alcohol burn. Light fruit and some vanilla. I can't get much out of this one neat. With water, a lot more fruit (apples and pears) comes forward. Fresh fruit is pretty much what I expected. After several minutes, the nose is more sweet and grainy, like a bowl of Frosted Flakes. The next morning, the glass smelled of malt and apples. |
| Taste | The arrival hits you like a ton of bricks. Neat, and very hot on the tongue. Ethanol, vanilla, cherries. With water, MUCH more open. Vanilla, shortbread cookies, cereal notes. Still "rough" tasting even with water. |
| Finish | Short and vanilla-y. With water, fruity but not much longer. This finish needs some work. I'd bet three more years of aging would do this wonders. |
| Overall Thoughts | It's a young and rough whisky. What more could one expect from this offering? I'm surprised that this is the same spirit bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company (As a comparison, check out my very positive review of their bottling here). I'd guess the whisky in the TBWC bottling was mostly 12-14 years old. The dried fruits and spice are missing from the MoM expression and boy was this one hot. Still, it was an interesting experience to taste such a young whisky. At 5 years old and 134 proof, it's pretty much what I thought it would be. |
| Total Score | 81/100 |
