Aultmore – 18 Year Old (70cl, 46%)

An 18 year old single malt from Aultmore, the Speyside distillery in Keith, built in 1896. It is bottled at 46% in a 70cl bottle. Most of the distillery's production goes into blends such as VAT 69 and Dewar's White Label, so official single malt bottlings are uncommon. Bright gold in the glass, it shows fruity, floral, spicy and herbaceous character. The nose offers apricot, sage, vervain, black pepper, cinnamon and liquorice with a camphor edge, plus ripe apple and pear. The palate adds coconut, coriander, ginger, vanilla, moss and green barley, with candied citrus. The finish is long and silky, with sweet white grape skin, praline, toffee and honey.