Aberlour A'bunadh (Batch 50)

It's been a slow moving month on the new whisky front. Haven't really tried anything new, so I'm pulling out old notes that never got published. Will definitely try something new in the next couple of days before the next work cycle begins.

This one was tried some time back. It was something I always wanted to get a sip of, largely based on the superlative reviews it garners on various whisky blogs and online merchants. A single cask sherried whisky, from Aberlour, a stalwart of the sherried whisky scene. This batch 50 was obtained from Auld Alliance, still my favourite place to get a dram.

The Aberlour 18 was pretty good, if a bit on the gentle side. Maybe this single cask one can top that and give a stiff fight to the Kavalan Solist Sherry (the a'bunadh was tried before I drank the Inchgower. Hence, at point of sipping, the Kavalan was the better point of reference).

Aberlour A'Bunadh (Batch 50) (abv 59.6%)

Oooh...Look at that high ABV. Almost 60! This is actually alcohol diluted by barley water, isn't it?

Nose - Rich, deep and dark. Rum and raisins to the fore, but that's not the only thing in the nose. There's quite a bit of spices behind the first big whiff of raisins, and a fair amount of wood as well. A deeper sniff...cinnamon...vanilla...suggestions of dark chocolate.

Palate - The raisins aren't as dominant. Instead, it's fairly drying on tea tannin, a touch of rubber. The raisins come out mid-way through. Maybe dried prunes too. A light bit of dark chocolate. Mm. Pretty hot on the alcohol, but that, I think, complements the softer spice well. The alcohol gives it a bit of an edge, which would otherwise be missing. I think this palate is fairly well-rounded, but lacking some oomph. Maybe the spices could be tuned up, or the raisins, or perhaps even the rubber or sherry sweetness. But as it is, it's good, but doesn't wow.

Finish - Not as long as I hoped. Some vanilla and spices on the back of the tongue. Maybe a short, thin strip of orange peel.

Overall - Nope, not as good as the Kavalan Solist Sherry. Maybe other batches are better...?

May Day May Day! (Part 1) - A beer, and the Aberlour 18

A long weekend, and one too many drinks. Beer with WT and PY on Friday night, whisky with LT on Saturday, and whisky again on Sunday with DW and JE. A couple of new things, a few old things, something exciting, and something slightly revolting (maybe that's wording it too strongly).

First up, the beer.

I've never been much of a beer person. Something about the fizz in beer gets me feeling bloated and light-headed quite quickly compared to whisky. But the craft beers that PY has been introducing are very good indeed. Special mention goes to the EvilTwin Yin Imperial Stout.

It's the first stout that I'll say that I like. My past experiences with stouts and dark beers haven't gone too well. I either find them too yeasty, or too dark, too burnt. This one however, is perfect. A nose that's filled with lychee, especially if you get a good head of foam. On the palate, there are rich notes of dark chocolate and a double shot espresso. It's also fairly creamy. At 10% alcohol, this is a strong stout. And a really good one too.

Honourable mentions go to Brewdog's 5AM Saint. Hoppy and fruity. A really fun brewery!

Next, the whiskies!

Aberlour 18 (43% abv)

JE bought this from the DFS on my recommendation. We've been wanting to open this for a while. Aberlour is one of the distilleries that carry the banner for sherried speysides. Let's see how this goes.

Colour - Amber. A really nice colour!

Packaging - This one was a tough one to open. The rubber/wax sealing thing that they do to the cap made it difficult to open as there wasn't a string that we could pull to break the seal. Resorted to a knife and a lot of fingernail leverage. This better be worth the work.

Nose - This smells like a richly sherried whisky alright. Rich, succulent sherry, backed by a solid wall of spices - I got cinnamon and maybe nutmeg. Some suggestions of chocolate, and a bit of rum soaked raisins. Not as intense as the Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask, but this smells inviting.

Palate - Mmm. A little bit of a let down after the nose promised so much. Creamy, but the flavours are a lot more subdued. Some raisins, a little bit of leather. The chocolate doesn't really get off the ground. Vanilla, and some oak and spice to balance out the sweetness. This is close to honey but not quite. A good nose, but a little tame on the palate. Hmm.

Finish - Tastes like there's a bit of artificial colouring in this, with a drying feel that isn't quite tannins, but closer to the chemical caramel colouring. Raisins remain, as does some spices.

Overall - pleasant, but not enough richness and kick on the palate. Maybe this needs some time in the bottle to open up. Will probably give it a shot again a few weeks later.

That's Part 1 of this happy long weekend! Part 2 will be up in a couple of days, and it will review the Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur's Choice Ledaig 1999 - 2015. So exciting!