Aultmore 13 Red Wine Barrique - The Whisky Cellar - 53.2%

More commonly used for blending, whiskies from the Aultmore Distillery in the heart of Speyside tend to fly under the radar. This release from The Whisky Cellar provides an interesting chance to see the influence a full maturation in a red wine barrique can have on their spirit.

Distilled in May 2009 and bottled in February 2023 before bottling at Cask Strength, and presented as Non-Chill Filtered and with Natural Colour. Only 297 bottle available.

Tasting notes:

Appearance: Copper gold, forms a thin line which beads before falling as slow, thin legs.

Nose: Red apples, calvados, cranberries sauce, purple grape skins and runny honey.

Palate: Creamy texture, strawberries and vanilla ice cream, apple turnovers and a mild leather note follow. With water, raspberry angel delight.

Finish: Sweet at first, turning slightly savoury with tannic astringency and mild chilli heat following on.

Overall: Well balanced and integrated, the higher abv isn’t really noticeable at all. Delightful mouthfeel, for me the one quibble would be the fruitiness does seem to have a slightly synthetic note, particularly in the finish. 

It’s a decent whisky, and certainly easy to drink, but for me the real interest comes from the opportunity to try something a little left field.

If you would like to know more about The Whisky Cellar and their range of whiskies, please follow the link to the company website.

The Whisky Cellar whiskies are available at retailers such as Top Whiskies and Master of Malt, click the images below to be taken to their websites.

Transparency: this sample pack was received free of charge for independent review. The author has no affiliation with the bottler, all opinions are my own and remain completely impartial.