.aberlour - 100 proof

An old bottling of an Aberlour, bottled at 100 degrees UK proof. We have found a 33.33cl bottle with the Drostan's Well label (there were 2 different labels) some time ago, bottled in 1998.

.smws - 54.33 - holidays and honeymoons

Little investigation leads us to know this is a 12yo Aberlour that has matured in a refill ex-Bourbon barrel. Quite rare to find an ex-Bourbon Aberlour, since the distillery has a habit of using Sherry dominated or vattings of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks.

.aberlour - 22yo - the maltman

Aberlour is not easily found as a single malt that is bottled a lot by your average independent bottler. Every now and then, a cask will appear and be bottled for us to enjoy. In this case, the Maltman has surprised us with a 22 year old Sherry bomb.

.aberlour - 12

48% abv, €50, single malt, non-chill filtered

Nose: she is a rather sweet drink, with lots of different dried fruits like sultanas, figs, apricots, raisins and dried apples, some citrus, blood oranges and a whiff of mint
Palate: sweet, with spicy cinnamon, and white pepper. Also sultanas and caramel-apples
Finish: long, sweet like caramel and cinnamon spices
Mark: +++/++

.aberlour - distillery bottling #8959

54,1% abv, €85, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color, single cask, cask strength

Nose: gentle, sweet, vanilla, citrus, oranges
Palate: sweet, vanilla, cinnamon, sharp, white pepper, citrus, oranges, marmalade, tofifee, milk-chocolate
Finish: long, dry, sweet, sharp, strong, marmalade
Mark: ++++/+

Conclusion: Great stuff, I would buy a bottle immediately next time I was there, although I recon this cask is empty now. I can imagine they have replaced this cask with another one by now, so I will not hesitate to have a taste of that one too...

More info: Distilled 03-11-1995, bottled 03-05-2012, first fill ex-Bourbon cask, cask #8959, bottle #181, bottled by the Mrs at the distillery.

.aberlour - 10

40% abv, €30, single malt, chill filtered, caramel E150 added

Nose: sweet, vanilla, toffee, gentle, fruit, dried dark fruits, raisins, fresh fruit, apples, pears, wood
Palate: sweet, vanilla, fruit, pears, apples, hard herbs, laurel, floral, lavender
Finish: medium long, fresh, mint, floral, lavender
Mark: +++++
Conclusion: Nice one. Typical Speysider if one would ask me. She has some nice fresh, floral and fruity notes. Too bad

More info from the website: "...matured in a combination of oak ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry butts for a minimum of 10 years..."

.aberlour a'bunadh - batch #35

60,3% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: round, nutty, woody, sherry
Palate: sweet, sharp alcohol, when adding water, chocolate
Finish: a long, spicy and sharp alcohol finish with a lingering bitter chocolate afterthought
Mark: ++++/+
Conclusion: Great stuff, would absolutely recommend, if you can still find a bottle of this batch. The more recent batches tend not to be as good as the earlier batches of this series, but are still great value for money. Can have a good splash of water.

More info: A'Bunadh means 'from the original' in Scottish Gaelic.
This whisky has matured exclusively in ex-Oloroso Sherry butts.

aberlour a'bunadh - batch #17

60,2% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: sweet, woody, sherry
Palate: honey sweet (thick), and sharp alcohol palate
Finish: a long, spicy and sharp alcohol finish with a lingering bitter chocolate afterthought
Mark: +++++
Conclusion: Great stuff, would absolutely recommend, if you can still find a bottle of this batch. The more recent batches tend not to be as good as the earlier batches of this series, but are still great value for money.

More info: A'Bunadh means 'from the original' in Scottish Gaelic.
This whisky has matured exclusively in ex-Oloroso Sherry butts.