Aultmore 10 Years Old 2006 Cask #307128 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

Bottled by The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd. in 2016 as a 10 year old single cask release drawn from cask 307128 of 2006 vintage Aultmore with 370 bottles distributed to the German market at 46%. The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. is a Glasgow based independent bottler founded by Brian Crook in 1992, with releases focused on small batch single cask Scotch at natural strength.

Distilled at the Aultmore distillery near Keith in Speyside, founded in 1896 by Alexander Edward and owned by Bacardi via John Dewar & Sons since 1998. The wash is made from unpeated plain malted barley with soft Auchinderran Burn water, mashed in a stainless steel full lauter mash tun and fermented for 56 hours in six larch wood washbacks. Aultmore runs the spirit through two wash and two spirit stills of plain pot still shape, with steam heated wash stills and shell and tube condensers giving high copper contact for a light, ester forward Speyside character. The spirit was filled into a single ex-Bourbon American oak cask for 10 year on site maturation.

Primary ester development sat alongside measured American oak extraction in temperate Speyside warehousing. Vanillin from lignin breakdown gave vanilla, cis and trans oak lactones added coconut and sweet wood, and char layer interaction produced furfural with Maillard derived caramelised sugars. Holding 46% across 10 years reflects steady evaporative loss, with American oak influence layered over Aultmore's signature light, ester forward profile.