Provided with a briefing from two current whisky award judges (who gave us the guidelines for the most recent whisky awards that they both judged) off we set. I have a few observations from this evening, that I’m still trying to work though in my head, and with some of them, frankly I’m struggling. Firstly: Scores below 60 are deemed faulty (seems completely fair enough to me), but just 10 points higher at 70 and you’re straight into the Silver Medal category. Wow. There’s very little difference relatively between a whisky deemed incorrect from a production standpoint and another whisky which would be given a prize for being indicative and representative of quality. Surely there should be more nuance than just 10 points between failure and accolade? I won’t name names, but let’s just say you look at the monthly outturn of some of the more fan-favourite bottlers and despite being twenty-something years of age the liquids are simply one Pantone away from new make spirit. This makes me wonder what on earth have these whiskies being matured in? How much amelioration has gone on, if any? Were these vessels completely inert? Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 20th Anniversary Edition Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2019 Interestingly, the bulk of Aultmore’s spirit has traditionally been utilized in blends, with the Aultmore 12 yo whisky emerging in 2014, followed by the Aultmore 18 yo in 2015. The second observation from last night is that of scoring the colour of a whisky. 10 points out of 100 are given for this. So ‘how do we judge and score that?’ was the immediate and obviously question. Apparently, unless there’s something plainly wrong with the whisky, then it’s just 10 points straight off the bat. I can’t imagine what would have to be wrong with a whisky for it not to get full marks here - Green mould floating across the surface, a light carbonation more commonly associated with other lower alcohol beverages?! I honestly don’t know. Anyhow, so yeah, 10 points immediately. Which means you’re effectively scoring these whiskies out of 90.

Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products. Taste: A good mouthfeel for both the 43% and likewise the light character of Aultmore. Honey, toffee and hay again, but now more defined with apple peels, grapes, orange zest and some real creaminess. Earthiness is still here, quite musty, almost like a forest mushroom. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein.In the mouth: lovely density to this, and a curious meaty note – a hint of umami, olives and sundried tomatoes, but just a flash before it becomes sweeter. Golden syrup, vanilla, baked pears. Touch of cinnamon. Blood oranges, a zing of pink grapefruit. Roasted herbs. Aubergine (or eggplant, if you’re a step below on the evolutionary ladder). Toasted almonds. It feels nicely autumnal. These are all familiar flavours, yet there’s a harmony here, not to mention a great heft to the spirit. Sparks of lime juice on an oily finish. Conclusions overall thin feeling, not at all rich in my opinion. It has a few core flavors which could be rich but they feel too distant and the thinness of the mouth feel just underlines that fact.

Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Aultmore distillery was built in 1897, commissioned by, amongst others, Alexander Edwards, an unsung hero of the Scotch Whisky industry. Like so many distilleries of the day, the whisky was destined for blending, and the make from Aultmore was so revered that its production capacity was doubled after just 1 year of operating, and it has been kept a closely guarded secret of blending houses ever since. PALATE: The first sip is akin to biting into a succulent, fresh peach dusted with vanilla sugar, accompanied by playful notes of lemon drops and a touch of greenery. As the journey continues, subtle sherry undertones merge seamlessly with the warm embrace of freshly baked biscuits and a gentle hint of oak. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates.Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”).