Aberlour A’Bunadh is one of these whiskies that I like to revisit every now and then. In a way it is a very characteristic dram if you want to learn how sherry maturation has changed over the years. More vanilla, more wood as such, losing a couple of specific aromas like tobacco, and less intense overall. I tried A’Bunadh Batch 71 about two years ago.
If you didn’t know already, this whisky is artificially coloured – quite a shame, even when you insist on making clear it comes from sherry casks.
Aberlour A’Bunadh – Batch #77 (60,8%, OB 2023, Oloroso sherry butts)
Nose: vanilla and milk chocolate at first, followed by sultanas, caramelized walnuts and cinnamon. Grows fruitier, with marmalade, berries and red apples. Then brown sugar, as well as some dusty barley in the background. Some cola candy, polished wood and butterscotch too. A rather modern, rounded sherry profile, but definitely inviting.
Mouth: starts sweet and rather fruity again, with plenty of raisins, red grapes and candied pear. Then oak sets in, with ginger and black pepper, perhaps a little too aggressive. A grassy side as well. Liquorice and heavily infused black tea in the end.
Finish: long and rather rough, with spicy oak, raw barley and cocoa.
As a nosing whisky, this still offers a lot of pleasure. On the palate it became a little rough in recent batches, I’d say. The wood gets to speak louder. With so many batches still available, I’d go for one of the 5x or 6x batches. I bought a sample from Whiskysite.nl