At the begining of 1999 we secured all the remaining stock of the original Inverarity Ancestral. This was because Bacardi, (the new owners of Aultmore, the source distillery), were refusing to sell any stock for bottling as a single malt (ignorant bums!). As Inverarity Vaults were unable to source adequate supplies of this unique sherry cask matured malt elsewhere, they have had to select a different source malt for their Ancestral which is now Balmenach (see back here).

Since that report we learned that Inverarity Vaults had entered the Aultmore-Ancestral in the International Wine and Spirit Competition (the world’s most influential) and won the gold award as the best Speyside whisky—a very prestigious recognition by a very distinguished panel of judges. Further proof that our appraisal of a good dram can be relied upon!

We have enjoyed selling Aultmore-Ancestral in the shop over the last six months but sadly now we have come to the last 250 bottles, ahhhh!
In recognition of this unique whisky’s achievement we have had the red capsule replaced with a gold, added the gold award sticker and relabelled the bottles as the ‘last 250 from Aultmore.’ Each label is endorsed with a stamp and individually initialled and dated by Inverarity’s MD, Hamish Martin.
These final few award winners are further differentiated from the new Balmenach-Ancestral by their price of £32.90. At that price we hope that collectors will be persuaded to hoard one and open another—it is after all a dram recognised for its superb quality.

September 2000. Andy Burns and the band of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders pipe into Main Street the last 24 bottles of Inverarity Ancestral from Aultmore. Don’t delay, order your stock of the last remaining bottles of sherry cask matured 14yo Aultmore-Ancestral.