Aultmore 12 Years Old 1997 Cask #90501 (Ian Macleod)

Bottled by Ian Macleod in 2009 as a 12 year old single cask release drawn from cask 90501 of 1997 vintage Aultmore with 810 bottles distributed to the Netherlands market at cask strength of 50%. Ian Macleod Distillers is a family owned Scottish whisky company founded in 1933, owning Glengoyne, Tamdhu, and Rosebank distilleries alongside an extensive independent bottling programme.

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 Oloroso sherry cask for 12 year on site maturation.

Primary ester development sat alongside European oak Oloroso sherry chemistry. Ellagitannins and gallic acid from the European oak build dried walnut and grip, while oxidative aldehydes including acetaldehyde and syringaldehyde develop nutty, leathery rancio. Fermentation derived sotolon adds dried fig and curry leaf, with concentration of glycerol lending body, integrated with Aultmore's underlying light ester signature at 50%.