Aultmore 15 Year Old 2008 Benchmark (Murray Mcdavid)

About The Brand: Aultmore

In Keith, Banffshire, there is a whiskey distillery called Aultmore that creates a single malt whisky of the same name. Its name, which refers to its water source, the Auchinderran burn, is derived from the Gaelic term An t-Allt Mr, which means 'great fire.' Alexander Edward, who at the time owned the Benrinnes distillery, created it in 1895. The distillery was first powered by a waterwheel but was soon converted to a steam engine, which functioned continuously for 70 years, with the exception of maintenance. The primarily retired waterwheel generated energy during maintenance times. The distillery site currently has the steam engine on exhibit. After the distillery was enlarged, output more than doubled. The distillery was owned by Pattisons in 1899, the year they filed for bankruptcy. The distillery shuttered when production drastically decreased. After closing again during World War I because to a lack of barley, Aultmore reopened about 1904. After World War I was over, it reopened, and in 1923, John Dewar and sons acquired it. Distiller Company acquired it shortly after in 1925. 1930 saw yet another transfer of ownership when Scottish Malt Distillers purchased it. The distillery was one of the first to use draff, a byproduct of making whiskey, as animal feed in the 1950s. Malting floors at the distillery were shut down in 1968, and the facility as a whole was refurbished and extended in 1970. In addition to the two stills that were already there, a new spirit still and wash still were added, and Aultmore Reopened in 1971. Dewars, a Bacardi subsidiary that had previously owned Aultmore between 1923 and 1925, purchased the distillery back in 1998. Aultmore released their first official bottle in 2004, a 12-year-old, following earlier releases of flora and fauna and rare malts.