Aultmore, Blair Athol, Strathmill (Maltbarn)

Only a couple of days until The Whisky Fair 2024 in Limburg – always a busy period for German bottlers. I’m lucky to receive some packages ahead of the festival, so here are a few things you can expect at the Maltbarn stand.

Today we’ll have ‘Circles’ and ‘Seventies’ labels. On the other hand there are also new bottlings in the ’26’ series, which have significantly smaller outturns.

 

Aultmore 17 yo 2006 (52,3%, Maltbarn ‘Circles’ 2023, sherry cask, 113 btl.)

Nose: good balance of different elements. Some rustic barley notes, leafy notes and dried grasses, grist and light apples and oranges. Then also sunflower oils, dried wildflowers / heather and a subtle earthiness. A mature and pleasantly unmodern nose.

Mouth: malty pleasures again, with hints of lemon peelings and apple peelings, some liquorice and leafy / mossy notes. A bittersweet theme develops after a while. Then green pepper, some grassy hints, subtle clove oil and a hint of green tea. A wee fragrant hint too.

Finish: medium long, with grassy notes, peppery oak and marmalade.

This feels less modern than the Aultmore 2006 released by Maltbarn two years ago. The sherry added compexity and maturity.

 

 

Blair Athol 14 yo 2009 (50%, Maltbarn 2023, sherry cask, 285 btl.)

Nose: some buttery pastry up front, with honey, maple syrup and hints of dried apricots. Then cinnamon and herbal drops, as well as light milk chocolate and orange. Ovaltine. Subtle hints of Malaga ice cream. Over time a hint of juicy plums appears in the background. Nice combo.

Mouth: fruity sweetness. Plums are back, along with apricots and oranges. A rather thick, jammy profile with nice fruits, along with vanilla pastry, poached pears and honey. After a while it becomes slightly drier, with orange oil and mild spice.

Finish: rather long, a little leafier, with ginger and cinnamon. Still sweet fruits in the background.

Again a balanced, certainly not ‘bomb-y’ sherry style, this time with jammy fruits throughout. I believe some active American oak was involved, but I really like the combination of rich oak and subtle sherry. Score: 88/100

 

 

Strathmill 27 yo 1996 (55,7%, Maltbarn 2023, sherry cask, 141 btl.)

Nose: more wood, in a nicely polished way. Subtle beehive notes and sugar syrup, apple juice, almond and a certain tropicalness. Light furniture polish and pipe tobacco. Then flambéed crêpes, walnut bread and drops of cappucino, hints of roasted nuts and maybe light whiffs of coconut.

Mouth: the wood is adding a lot of spicy heat now. Pepper, with grassy undertones or hay and leather. Then also baked apples and hints of sweet ale. Oranges, both edible and bitter ones. The sweetness is balancing out the woody side, with enough citrus to keep this balanced.

Finish: quite long, with sweet oak spice, a wee earthy note and citrus.

In my opinion Strathmill is one of these distilleries that can’t be pigeonholed. A bit of a crossover malt, often in good casks though. The nose had me going for 90 points, but the palate is slightly lower. Check it out if you’re going to Limburg, and send Martin my regards! Score: 89/100