Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 52 Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

I have been excited to try the Aberlour A'bunadh.

I spent the last six months on a lengthy exploration of the world's peatier malts, and for whatever reason, I was deep into the caramelly and fruity scotch world before that.

Which is to say, I hadn't had a glass of sherry styled scotch in... a while.

A long while.

Until a week ago.

I happened to be at a liquor store trying to decide which Islay flavor to explore next when I saw a mini bottle of Macallan 12 Sherry Cask at a decent price.  I picked it up, brought it home, and I was immediately sucked into the sherry flavors.

It had been so long!

Truth be told, I wasn't much of a sherry fan the last time I explored that part of the scotch world.  I think it was a problem of timing.  My first scotch was a sherry.  My second was a sherry.  There was no third sherry.  They just weren't for me at the time.  My palate wasn't developed enough.

Now, though....

Oh.  My.

After running out and picking up a full sized bottle of Macallan 12 Sherry, I put in some research to find out what sort of sherry monsters are running around at reasonable prices right now.  I explored the smokier malts by diving right in with the big boys, so I figured I had to do the same with sherry.

One name kept popping up: Aberlour A'bunadh.

At last my moment is at hand.  I ran over to Total Wine today after work and found a bottle of Batch 52.  From a brief chat with Mr. Google, it appears that this has worked in my favor, as Batch 52 has been tremendously well received.

A'bunadh means "the Original" in Gaelic.  The story goes that a time capsule was discovered in the distillery containing a 1898 bottle of Aberlour.  A'bunadh is an attempt to recreate that malt.  A'bunadh is a Cask Strength scotch, although the specific ABV varies with each batch, with a rough range of 58-61%; Batch 53 is 60.5%.  It should be noted that this is a NAS (no age statement) scotch.  The distillery, however, reports that each batch consists of scotches ages 5-25.  Given the price point of this scotch, I think we can assume that the majority of the scotch comes from the younger end of this range.

Tasting Notes

Eye: I rarely think much of a dram's color, but this one is worth mentioning.  A'bunadh has a beautiful dark mahogany leaning towards brown color despite no coloring added.

Nose: Intense sherry, sweet, wood, and some bright fruits but more dark fruits, especially black cherry jam.  Alcohol burn is present but shockingly mild for a 60.5% ABV.  Water added: more intense toffee and caramel notes while softening the wood and sherry.  A previously unnoticeable hint of green apple becomes available.

Palate: Dark and dried fruits punch through immediately and with a burnt, caramelized flavor as though they had been sugared and then toasted.  Complex but incredibly robust sherry.  Intensely creamy almost syrupy texture.  Alcohol burn is present but, as with the nose, surprisingly mild given the ABV.  Water added: a malty toffee is brought to the fore while the sherry and wood flavors linger strong but in the background.  A dash of black peppercorn shows itself.  Alcohol burn is softened sufficiently to allow for appreciation of greater depth of flavors.

Review

I like this dram.  A lot.

On a scale of one to Intense, I would label the Aberlour A'bunadh as very intense.  It is what it is, and it makes no apologies and has no shame.

Nor should it.

This is a monster in a glass.  Much like the Ardbeg Corryvreckan, I feel a tad overwhelmed with every sip I take.  In a good way.  It is an assault upon the senses, but it is the kind you welcome with open arms.

The downside is that it is not a casual sipping scotch.  I would not come home from the average day of work and pour myself a glass while I watch TV or read a book.

No.

This is a scotch that is meant to be experienced, that is an experience in and of itself.

For tasting, I would recommend trying both with water added and without.  I thought the dram changed its character significantly with the water, but I was never able to decide which I preferred.  Perhaps it's the mark of an excellent scotch that either direction produces a wonderful and complex drink; I anticipate using both methods in the future.

This is excellent whisky and will be a perennial favorite on my Top Scotch shelf, I have also placed it in the Intense Scotch grouping for obvious reasons.

Scotch Dreams Score: 94/100