Single Malt

Aultmore 12 Year Review

Name: Aultmore 12 Year Old
Brand: Aultmore

Reviewed by Kaz · 26/09/2026

The Verdict

4.2/ 5

Rated 4.2 out of 5 Highly Recommended

Clean Malty Herbal

Best for

Newcomers and experienced drinkers alike who want a clean, malty, easy-drinking single malt with satisfying weight — neat, on the rocks, with water or in a highball. Less suited to those looking for a deep, complex or richly sherried malt.

Quick Verdict

Aultmore 12 Year Old is a clean, sharp Speyside single malt with vanilla, malt, green apple, pineapple, herbs and spice over a slightly dry, smooth palate. It's easy to drink yet has real weight at 46%, with a malty, spicy finish of moderate length — not especially deep or complex, but satisfying, with a simple, clear quality.

Tasted Aug 2025 · Neat

Bottle Information

Aultmore 12 Year Old is a Speyside single malt from Aultmore, a distillery founded in 1897. It's presented as an introduction to the Aultmore range, with a focus on refill casks. It's bottled at 46% ABV and non-chill filtered; the bottle reviewed here is the 700ml size.

Whisky Specs

Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Aultmore
Brand: Aultmore
Category: Single Malt
Age: 12
ABV: 46% ABV
Cask: Refill casks
Volume: 700ml
Chill filtered: No

Tasting Review

Aultmore 12 isn’t a showy whisky, but it has a simple, clear quality to it. The profile is sharp and clean, which makes it easy to drink, yet the 46% strength gives it real weight and satisfaction. There’s vanilla, malt, green apple, pineapple, herbs and spice, with a slightly dry edge and a malty, spicy finish of moderate length. It isn’t especially deep or complex, but it has a youthful freshness in the good sense, and it’s the kind of malt I don’t tire of. A slightly herbal note even called to mind the heathery side of peat for me.

It also held its character across every way I tried it; the impression shifts a little, but the core stays the same. When I reviewed it in August 2025 it cost around ¥7,000 in Japan, which felt a little high for a 12-year-old — fair value rather than a bargain. For another Speyside 12-year-old, see my The Glenlivet 12 review, or browse our Single Malt reviews.

Tasting Notes

Nose: A touch of alcohol, but an assertive nose. Vanilla, malt, green apple, hay, herbs, spice and oak.
Palate: Satisfying weight with a smooth texture, slightly on the dry side. Vanilla, malt, spice, green apple, pineapple, herbs and oak.
Finish: Malty and spicy, lingering for a moderate length.

Flavor Profile

Sweetness 2 / 5
Fruit 3 / 5
Spice 3 / 5
Oak 2 / 5
Smoke / Peat 0 / 5
Body 3 / 5

Pros

Clean and sharp yet satisfying, with real weight and no roughness neat.
Vanilla, malt, green apple, pineapple and herbs over a smooth, slightly dry palate.
A simple, clear quality that stays enjoyable glass after glass.

Cons

Not especially deep or complex.
A touch of alcohol on the nose.

Final Verdict

Aultmore 12 Year Old is a clean, well-made Speyside single malt whose strength is simple quality. Neat, the nose is assertive — vanilla, malt, green apple, hay, herbs, spice and oak — with only a touch of alcohol, and the palate has satisfying weight and a smooth, slightly dry texture, with vanilla, malt, spice, green apple, pineapple and herbs over oak, before a malty, spicy finish of moderate length. It's sharp, clean and easy to drink, with no roughness neat and a youthful freshness in the good sense. Its limits are depth and complexity: it's more a clear, straightforward malt than a layered one, and a little alcohol shows on the nose. Judged purely on the liquid, it's a satisfying, easy-to-recommend single malt.

Other Ways to Drink It

Dram Verdict's core Nose, Palate, Finish and Score above are tasted neat. These are Kaz's notes on other ways he's actually tried this bottle.

With Water

Good

It doesn't go thin; it turns fresh and clean, with the sweetness, fruit and herbal freshness coming forward.
On the Rocks

Excellent

The fruit stands out and the balance stays good; it holds its body even sipped slowly, changing gradually as it dilutes.
Highball

Excellent

A little more acidity than in other serves, with sweetness inside the freshness — a satisfying highball rather than a light, gulpable one.

About the author

Kaz Bartender & Whisky Reviewer

Kaz is a chief bartender in Japan, with eight years behind the bar and six years reviewing whisky on Whisktender, his Japanese-language whisky site. Every Dram Verdict score and every personal tasting note comes from a whisky he has tasted himself, with one question always in mind: is this bottle worth buying?