Aberlour sherry vs bourbon


November 7, 2023

WF's Little Duos, today Aberlour sherry vs. bourbon

We shall have a new A'bunadh, but as usual, we're a bit lost and always two or three batches behind. But remember that Aberlour is very famous in France, where it ranks among the top malts in terms of sales. For once, my fellow countrymen are consistent in their choices…

French magazine advert for Aberlour, 1995. 'Wallace Milroy
and his peers decided to elect Aberlour before even having swallowed a single drop'. And then, we wonder why
whisky awards have such a bad reputation.

Aberlour 'A'bunadh batch #74' (60%, OB, Spanish oloroso sherry butts, 2022)

I just noticed that we already tried batch #75, see how it goes? But remember, NAS was cool when there were only a few of them, including A'bunadh, Glenfarclas 105 and the various inceptions of the 'As We Get It'. Colour: gold. Nose: whoops, not really a fan of this one on the nose, there's some leafy dough, a little leather, bitter almonds, turnips, orgeat… Not really your well-sherried malt, I suppose water will help. With water: oh it does, as we're now in front of five kilograms of Swiss milk chocolate. Or Toblerone. Mouth (neat): roasted malt and raisins, some dark chocolate, allspice, pecan tarte… This is much nicer. With water: very good now, what a recovery. Chocolate bars, cornflakes, thick muscat, black raisins, sherry indeed, clafoutis, sticky toffee pudding, millionaire shortbread… Finish: same, for a long time. Lovely maltiness, chocolate and roasted nuts. Comments: incredible, I was watching the counter go up gradually, from let's say 78 to this well-deserved 88. Take your time!
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Alright, let's admit it, the next Aberlour is mainly the one I wanted to taste today, the A'bunadh was just a sparring partner…

Aberlour 21 yo 'Crafted Small Batch No.1.3' (47.4%, OB, LMDW New Vibrations, Limited Release, First Fill American Oak, 2023)

Aberlour loves bourbon. I remember when we visited the distillery with the Malt Maniacs about 20 years ago, all we were talking about was sherry, and the opportunity to bottle a bourbon cask on site seemed simply extraordinary. The same went for Macallan, by the way; how times have changed! Colour: white wine. Nose: Aberlour's proverbial fruitiness popping out instantly, with gooseberries and pink grapefruits just all over the place. Incredible. Also some cassis (really a lot), cranberries, granny smith, then aromatic white wines, viognier, gewurz, muscat… Holy featherless crow! Mouth: hi-class extreme cassis-led fruitiness, with just a hint of coconut that quickly passes by. Phew. Also fruity peppers (Szechuan), tangerines, watermelon, apples… A real fruit salad, with just a hint of peanut butter that will add a bit of texture and richness. Finish: long, on a mix of top-notch eaux-de-vie. A little coconut wine signing off in the aftertaste. Comments: what a classy natural Aberlour!
SGP:641 - 90 points.

There have been a lot of high-quality malts lately, which is just great (let's just avoid mentioning the prices, okay?)

Check the index of all Aberlour we've tasted so far

Wgiskyfun 101

Collector Bottle (definition)
A very good bottle that was originally not intended/advertised for collectors and that you should have bought while it was on the market.