Review #45: The Old Malt Cask Aultmore 21 Year (1991) – Cask #9869

Bottler: Hunter Laing

Distillery: Aultmore

Region: Speyside

ABV: 50%

Age: 21 Years Old, Distilled in September of 1991 and Bottled in July of 2013.

Cask Type: Hogshead

Price: $7.85 for a 30 mL Sample

Color: 0.3, Pale Gold. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose (according to the wife): Lots of fresh scents in the form of fresh cut pears, lilies, and fresh linens. Very refreshing to smell.

Palate: As the nose suggests, this is a very refreshing dram. There are notes of fresh pears, floral tea, and fresh hay. After a bit of water is added, slightly notes of under-ripe honeydew melon peek through as well. For something bottled at 50%, it has absolutely no bite. It’s incredibly smooth and easy to drink. Not too heavy on the tongue, but not too thin either.

Finish: Short in length. It is dry with more notes of floral tea. Very refreshing overall.

Conclusion: With whisky from 1991, much like myself, inching closer to 30 years of age, I figure I should try all of what I can get my hands on before they become crazy expensive (if anyone has any recommendations of 1991 bottlings, please let me know). This one interested me as I hadn’t had a chance to try anything from Aultmore. When I first poured this, I was astonished about how light it is colorwise. Hogshead casks are big but I thought there would be a little more color imparted on the whisky. This reminds me of a lot of Cylenlish 14 year given the amount of fresh floral notes in it. The delicate layers of fruit are lovely and really help make this a very refreshing dram. I would say it’s perfect for a hot summer’s day. Would I buy a bottle? Maybe.

Final Score: 81

Scotch whisky review #45, Speyside review #20, Whisky Network Review #62

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.