Aultmore

Aultmore is a Scottish distillery located in the Speyside region, near the town of Keith in Banffshire/Moray. Its name comes from the Gaelic An t-Allt Mòr, meaning ‘Great Stream/Great Torrent (stormy stream)’, a reference to the Auchinderran Burn, which provides water for whisky production.

The distillery was founded by Alexander Edward in 1895-1896, when he was already operating the Benrinnes distillery (which he inherited from his father). Aultmore was actually his first distillery built from scratch. Production began on 24 May 1897. After just one year, capacity was doubled — the liquid was in high demand.

In 1898, Aultmore joined Oban & Aultmore-Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd. This was followed by a period of crisis — the Pattison Crash (late 19th century) and interruptions in production during the First World War due to a shortage of barley. In 1923, the distillery was purchased by John Dewar & Sons for £20,000. Two years later, it became part of Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) and later Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD).

In the 1960s and 1970s, it underwent reconstruction: in 1970-71, additional stills were added — the number of stills increased from two to four, and capacity was expanded. The method of heating the stills was also changed (to steam heating), and the malting floors were closed in 1968. In 1998, Aultmore became part of Bacardi through Dewar's – its owner is John Dewar & Sons, which belongs to Bacardi.

Production and technical specifications
Water source: Auchinderran Burn (Burn of Auchinderran). The clean water from the stream is very important for the character of the whisky.

Distillation equipment: It has four stills - 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills. The mash tun has a capacity of around 9-10 tonnes of barley. The washbacks are wooden (larch/blue spruce/wood) – there are six of them, with large volumes (~ 46,500 l). The production capacity of raw alcohol/distillate (litres of pure alcohol) is typically in the range of approximately 2–3.2 million litres per year.

Process: fermentation is relatively long, the stills are not extremely large, which allows for more reflux (i.e. returning condensates back, which leads to a more complex profile). The mash tun is classic, the washbacks are wooden – which contributes to the woody and herbal tones in the profile.

Most of Aultmore's production is traditionally used as a blending malt — much of its whisky goes into blends such as Dewar's, Johnnie Walker Black Label, but also other blends.

Their own single malt (official bottling) only began to gain prominence later — the first official 12-year-old release came in 2004. Then came age editions such as 21-year-old, 25-year-old and so on. In terms of taste, Aultmore is characterised by a clean, fresh character with woody tones and subtle herbal and spicy nuances. It is not a very peaty whisky – more of a Speyside style with a delicate sweetness, fruit and floral accents, plus oak tones. Distinct woodiness and purity.

Interesting facts:
The engine that powered the steam engines – originally, Aultmore used a water wheel, but later (in 1898) introduced a steam engine that operated 24 hours a day for about 70 years. This historic engine is still part of the site as a technical monument. The malting floors were closed in 1968 – today, malting is carried out by external maltsters. Although production was mostly for blends, Aultmore remained in the background – but in recent decades it has been gaining more and more awards and interest due to its single malt profile. The distillery is not normally open to the public – it is not a tourist attraction like some other large distilleries.