Overview
This was bought for me by good friend and former work college, Nathan, when I was unceremoniously chucked out of the company I created. So against that backdrop, you’d expect that it’d be a photograph of an empty bottle and tasting notes that consisted mainly of “thatsetovbasturdsdunnowhatdeyredoin”.
The best thing about being bought whisky is that you often get something that you wouldn’t ordinarily choose yourself and that’s very much the case here. I don’t buy a lot of Speyside whiskies and Aberlour isn’t one I’d normally go for, but it turns out (by a new process I’ve discovered called “counting”) that this is the 57th batch of A’Bunadh they’ve produced.
A’Bunadh is known for its use of Spanish Oloroso Sherry butts and is bottled at cask strength, which is 60.7% ABV in this batch. It is a NAS (No Age Statement) whisky, which I understand the logic of and reasoning, but always leaves me a little uneasy. However, it’s un-chill filtered and looks well aged so let’s have a go…
Colour | Nose | Palate | Finish |
---|---|---|---|
Burnt tawny caramel poured over a Titian haired woman. | Sherry! Sherry! Sherry! bit of fruit cake, raisins, cinnamon | Tobacco, chocolate and Christmas cake and leather. Like an after Christmas dinner cigar in a winged backed Chesterfield chair. | Switches from Christmas Cake to Soreen bit weak and less spicy |
Conclusion
This was a bit of a revelation. I’d like to try the other batches now to compare, but in comparison to some other “Sherry heavy” Speyside whiskies, this had a wonderful depth and complexity.
Loved the smooth richness along with the spiciness. Didn’t really need any water adding for a cask strength whisky, a few drops at most to bring out the subtler woody notes.
Rating
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