Aultmore distillery

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Running the stills slow helps to maximise reflux, but the shape also allows some heavier elements to come across. In character, therefore, Aultmore shares some of the same characters as Linkwood – fragrant on the nose, substantial on the tongue.

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  • Region
    Speyside
  • Production type
    Single malt
  • Distillery Status
    Working

Aultmore History

When drinking locally, you wouldn’t ever ask for an Aultmore, but for ‘a dram of the Buckie road’. Located in splendid isolation on the route which runs from that fishing port to Keith, it has – until very recently – been a rare bird as a single malt. Built by the enterprising Alexander Edward [see Craigellachie] in 1896 it was always going to be pressed into service for blends.

In 1923 it became part of the John Dewar & Sons estate and has remained so ever since. In fact, so highly prized is it as a blending malt that it is said that when Bacardi was in the process of buying Dewar’s from Diageo, it was willing to walk away from the deal if Aultmore wasn’t included.

Completely refurbished in the 1970s it is easy to dismiss as little more than a functional plant, but the character of its single malts, now finally being given an official release, shows what the blenders have been keeping to themselves for all these years.

Timeline

  • 1896 Aultmore is built by Alexander Edward
  • 1923 Edward sells the distillery to John Dewar & Sons for £20,000
  • 1925 Dewar’s joins Distillers Company
  • 1971 Aultmore doubles its production capacity with two more stills
  • 1998 Aultmore, along with the rest of the Dewar’s portfolio plus Bombay Gin, is sold to Bacardi for £1.1million
  • 2014 The Aultmore range is expanded to include a 12, 25, and 30-year-old for domestic markets, and a 21-year-old for travel retail

Aultmore Facts

  • Capacity (mlpa) i
    2.95
  • Condenser Type i
    Shell and tube
  • Fermentation Time i
    Minimum 56hrs
  • Grist Weight (t) i
    10
  • Heat Source i
    Steam
  • Malt Specification i
    Plain malt, zero phenols
  • Malt Supplier i
    Simpsons
  • Mash Tun Type i
    Lauter
  • New-make Phenol Level i
    Zero
  • New-make Strength i
    Less than 70%
  • Spirit Still Charge (l) i
    15,000
  • Spirit Still Shape i
    Plain
  • Spirit Still Size (l) i
    17,500
  • Stills i
    2 wash, 2 spirit
  • Warehousing i
    Westhorn / Poniel
  • Wash Still Charge (l) i
    16,400
  • Wash Still Shape i
    Plain
  • Wash Still Size (l) i
    22,970
  • Washback Charge (l) i
    47,200
  • Washback Size (l) i
    60,000
  • Washback Type i
    Wood
  • Washbacks i
    6
  • Water Source i
    Auchenderran Dam, Rye Riggs Burn
  • Wort Clarity i
    Cloudy
  • Yeast Type i
    MS1 liquid yeast

Owners

Bacardi logo

Parent company

Current owner

Previous owners

Contact

Address
Aultmore Distillery
Aultmore
Moray
AB55 6QY
United Kingdom
Phone
+44 1542 881800
Visitor Opening Hours
Not open to the public

Map

See also

  • Aberfeldy Aberfeldy Aberfeldy Distillery & brand

    Aberfeldy

    The home of Dewar's World of Whisky.

  • Craigellachie Craigellachie Craigellachie Distillery & brand

    Craigellachie

    Late 19th century distillery designed by Charles Doig, now owned by John Dewar & Sons.

  • Macduff Macduff Macduff Distillery & brand

    Macduff

    Distillery producing the Deveron malt.

  • Royal Brackla Royal Brackla Royal Brackla Distillery & brand

    Royal Brackla

    A producer of malt for blending, Royal Brackla became the first Scotch to obtain a Royal Warrant.

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