Оценка: 82/100. Цена: около 60лв.
Aultmore 11 y.o. single malt whisky PRV
Common practice in the whiskey world is on the market to be offered drinks by an independent bottling companies, which do not possess distilleries or do not have distilled the liquid in the bottle themselves. What they had done is to buy „Х“ – quantity of whiskey of particular brand, then they offer it to us consumers, as indicating its origin, of course. One of these companies is Douglas Laing, based in Glasgow, thanks to which we have the opportunity to try rarer types of whiskies. In the following lines, I’ll present you one of their products.
The liquid in the bottle is originating from the Aultmore distillery in Speyside and it is about 11 years of age. It is part from the „Provenance“ series of Douglas Laing. The season indicated on the label /autumn/ shows when the whisky was distilled – in this case, in the autumn of 1966. Its alcoholic strength is 46, no coloring agents added and the liquid is non-chill filtered. I already reviewed a whisky of this series in the blog. It was Mortlach 9 y.o. single malt whisky, and my notes for it are available in the list of labels, on the right.
As usual, my annotation starts with a few words about the aroma. In this case it was sweetish, fruity /plums, apricots, peaches, maybe a little pears/, sherry notes, vanilla and light caramel. The addition of water unlocked malt sweetness and impression for a very light peat, as well as light honey. Taste – spicy, bitter, the liquid unleashes saliva. The water unleashed sweetness and a light „earthy“ note also appeared. Finish – medium duration, dried fruits, spicy and bitter, slightly buttery, plum jam, which appeared after a minute or two, light sweetness, which replaced the initial bitterness. With water, the aftertaste gained a slight vinous flavour, as well as the said association with earth. The sweetness strengthen. Assessment: 82/100
Price: around 60 lv. I filled my sample in Bar Caldo, and I saw the bottle at my friends and colleagues of Whiskyexperience.bg.
P.S. I do not know whether the bitterness that I found, was not the result of the fact that in a period before the tasting, I used a citrus flavoured chewing gum. It seems to me that it alters the receptors’ perceptions, and is possible the commented note to be practically absent or far less. Now I know – I’ll avoid them before tasting. Drinking water does not help against such a taste, that was somehow hidden and I didn’t find it in my mouth, but then it appear in the interaction of the tongue with the liquid.