Bacardi has launched Aultmore, a Speyside single malt
Scotch whisky, in World Duty Free Group airport stores from November, exclusively for one year. Featuring two age statements – Aultmore 12yo and a travel-retail
exclusive Aultmore 21yo – this rare Speyside single malt release is described
as a key player in Bacardi's single malt portfolio.
First produced in 1897, for more than a century Aultmore
has been distilled in handmade copper pot stills. To ensure a pure flavour, the
barley used has no hint of peat smoke, and only the finest grade casks are
selected for maturation. Taking its name from the Gaelic for ‘Big Burn’, the
Aultmore distillery was built outside Keith on the nine-mile road to Buckie, in
a remote region of Speyside. The distillery sits beside by the village of Aultmore, with both often obscured from view, blanketed in thick fog
from the mysterious Foggie Moss.
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| Aultmore 21yo single malt Scotch whisky |
Nigel Sandals, category buying manager for liquor at World
Duty Free Group, said: “Aultmore 21yo is a classic single malt whisky and will
be exclusive to World Duty Free Group for one year. We have an extensive programme of support and
in-store activation in place, including featuring Aultmore as Malt of the Month
on our World of Whiskies website and sharing details about this exclusive
whisky with our extensive database of loyal customers who are passionate about
whisky.
“Aultmore is being launched initially in our Glasgow
store on 8 November and will be prominently showcased in our World of Whiskies
store, with extensive sampling activity at the integral Tasting Bar. It will
then be rolled out across the entire business on 26 November and our aspiration
is to make this as successful a launch as the Glen Deveron Collection.”
"Genuinely exciting aged malts"
Mike Birch, managing director of Bacardi Global Travel
Retail, said: “We are particularly excited to offer Aultmore on a one-year
exclusive partnership with World Duty Free Group, building on the
tremendous success of Glen Deveron in 2013. We share a joint ambition to make genuinely exciting aged malts
available to discerning collectors and enthusiasts alike and Aultmore will
feature at World Duty Free Group’s European stores, including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen,
where malt fans visiting Scotland will be delighted to discover this rare find
in-store, close to its evocative home in Foggie Moss.”
The smooth, clean and fruity taste of Aultmore can also
be traced back to the moist, misty Foggie Moss with its network of natural
springs. Here, the distillery’s secluded water source slowly wends its way
through boggy terrain where bracken, gorse and heather filters and purifies the
water, aiding the character of the spirit.
Inspired by the natural environment, the soft black
imagery used on the label evokes a sense of the location’s foggy nature and
helps to create an air of mystery, adding to the mood. The use of uncoated
paper seeks to give an elegant look but with a naturally tactile feel, enhanced
by the contrast of the slightly faded illustrations.
The Aultmore Distilling Co logo has been branded into
each of the wooden bottle closures throughout the age range, helping to
emphasise the brand heritage. To accentuate pride in the secret past of the
distillery, each bottle has been embossed with the statement: ‘A Nip of the
Buckie Rd’.
The history of Aultmore
Founder Alexander Edward of Forres opened Aultmore in
1897, during the peak of the late-Victorian whisky boom. Already a seasoned
distiller and important figure on the Scotch scene, he had inherited his first
distillery, Benrinnes, from his father and subsequently became one of the
co-founders of Craigellachie. Aultmore, however, was to be the first distillery
he would build from scratch. In time, Alexander Edward would become famed as
one of Scotland’s best-known distillers.
Built to supply whisky to the big blending houses of the
day, it was Aultmore’s popularity with blenders that gave rise to the
distillery’s success. The whisky soon became known as one of only five single
malts considered Top Class by the Distillers Company Ltd. This further
encouraged the pioneering blenders of the era to seek out the distinctly
high-class malt for their creations.
As the vast
majority of its single malt was earmarked for blending, bottlings of Aultmore
have always been rather elusive; the whisky is often dubbed the Rarest of
Speyside. Despite its rarity, for more than 100 years it was known to be a
secret dram of the locals and Buckie fisherman, savoured by those who knew to
ask at nearby inns for ‘a nip of the Buckie Road’.
Tasting notes
