Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Aberlour A’Bunadh, a cask strength NAS matured in Oloroso sherry butts that is consistently reliable. They put out a new release pretty often, and there’s clear batch variance, so here are two side-by-side.
Tasted on 2/11/2021, neat in a Glencairn, then a few drops of water.
Distillery: Aberlour
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Speyside
ABV: 59.6%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2014.
Cask type: Oloroso Sherry Butts
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: raisins, figs, cherries, dates. Molasses, toffee. Tobacco. Tea. Hay. Damp earth. Warm sand. New leather. Almonds and ginger. With Water: even more fruit, some orange! Wow. A bit more spice, too.
Taste: dried dark fruits and sherry. A bit of ginger spiciness. Molasses. Toffee. Tobacco. Strong black tea. Chocolate. Earthy. Medium-thick mouthfeel. Oily. With Water: more fruit here too. Some orange rind now.
Finish: burst of sherry and dark fruits. Creamy. More molasses and toffee. Tobacco. Chocolate. Earthy, a bit grassy. Some new leather. Some light spiciness. Medium length. With Water: more fruit and cream, more molasses, more earth. Bigger overall. Very nice.
Summary: this is a rich, dark sherry bomb. Tons of beautiful fruits covered in molasses. Some nice notes of tobacco, hay, damp earth, and even a bit mineral. Nutty, with a mild spice throughout. Mouthfeel is quite good, and the finish is excellent. Overall a great dram, and it works really well neat even at almost 60% ABV. A touch of water (really, just a few drops here) brings more fruit and spice, keeping the beautiful mouthfeel and finish.
This is not my typical flavor profile, and as such this bottle tends to sit on the shelf sad and alone. And that’s a shame. I should drink it more often.
Also, I suspect my wife thinks I’m underrating this one. She keeps coming back and stealing the last bits of it.
Would I buy a bottle? yup. I have before, and I would again.
Final Score: 87.
Distillery: Aberlour
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Speyside
ABV: 60.8%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2017.
Cask type: Oloroso Sherry
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: raisins & figs. Raspberry. Toffee, vanilla. Tobacco. Straw. Damp earth. New leather. Almonds. With Water: still shy, with more fruit and vanilla. Some oak. Less leather. More resin.
Taste: dark fruits and sherry. Ginger spice. Almonds. Tobacco. Earthy. Lots of leather. Grassy. A bit hot and a little dry. With Water: a bit thinner. Less spice. Nicely fruity. The heat is tamed. Less leather.
Finish: sweet dried fruits. New leather. Ginger heat. Lots of almonds and tobacco. Toffee and chocolate. Medium length, though shorter than the 50 for sure. A bit hot. A little dry. With Water: less leather. More spice. Less heat. More nuts. Sadly shorter.
Summary: this is still a big sherry bomb, but it’s a different character. (More below.) Lots of nice dark sweet fruits and leather, with some tobacco, vanilla, nuts, and caramel along for the ride. The nose is a bit shy, even with water, and sadly water thinned the mouthfeel out a bit. Water did bring it into better balance, though, and knocked back some of the leather and heat. Still much more leathery than the 50.
I usually think of A’Bunadh as a prime example of a high-ABV dram that just doesn’t need water. The 61 is letting me down on that a bit though. It’s rather hot neat, and oddly balanced.
Would I buy a bottle? hmm. I’d dig for an older batch honestly.
Final Score: 82.
Comparison
Order: 50 > 61
This is a really easy call. The 50 is big, rich, dark, thick, and just delicious. The 61 is softer, thinner, not as fruity, and much more leathery. A simpler flavor profile all around. More nutty, more vanilla and caramel. The 61 also feels hotter all around than the 50. I’d add water by default to the 61, but I’m happy to have the 50 neat.
This also used to be quite a bargain. I feel like the Batch 50 I have cost me around $70 or so in 2015. I see now it’s going for $95 at my local Total Wine, and it’s not clear which batch that is. I think I’d be fine with $95 for the 50 honestly. The 61, not as much.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 