Even though the picture I found on the web indicates Batch 38, this post will cover batches 45 and 46. Aberlour is a Speyside distillery that is well known for the A'bunadh expression - from the Gaelic "of the original," it's a cask strength super sherry bomb of surprising complexity and no age statement.
As anyone who has read the previous posts or followed Scotch news generally is aware, this new trend of whiskies with No Age Statement is troubling for the simple reason that old whisky is finite and eventually runs out, and then you (the distillery) are left with lots of really young spirit to mix together. And young spirit is less complex and rich and dense than older, matured spirit. So, the theory goes, the end product suffers.
Aberlour A'bunadh has rather rabid fans who insist on comparing batch against batch and trying to identify the weaker ones. After trying two batches, one regarded as Excellent (Batch 45) and one regarded as Middling (Batch 46), I think that this is splitting hairs. The differences are rather negligible, all in all, and I wouldn't pass up a bottle because of the numbers printed on the front.
Nose: Batch 45: Surprisingly understated for such an intense whisky. Chocolate, sherry fruit, alcohol, blood oranges, a pleasant nuttiness. Not much else. Batch 46: Largely the same, but with less orange and some mild coffee instead.
Mouthfeel: Enormous, and supremely alcoholic. The alcohol comes in a huge wave and just punches you between the eyes. Rich and full, a cascade. (Same for both batches). Like a tidal wave, there is no escaping it.
Palate: Batch 45: So complex, yet so powerful. It tastes many sips to figure out most of the things going on here. I prefer to drink all my whisky neat - hence the lack of water-added notes on any whisky I've covered so far - but this one is a real challenge. Turbo-charged raisins, bitter stone fruits (cherry, nectarine, peach), tobacco, and rich, rich, lush wood. Like sniffing a cedar plank soaked in red wine.
Batch 46: Much the same, with different proportions and levels of brightness. The 46 is brighter (indicating more young whisky, perhaps?) with more acid and brash alcohol. The batch 45 is a hair smoother and more integrated.
Finish: Here is where the two batches diverge noticeably. Batch 45 stays sweet until the very very end and the spices present are all cooking spices - cloves, cinnamon, allspice. Batch 46 is messier, and bitter oak barges through and conquers any sweetness. The woody aspects numb the palate and really push only Big Black Pepper to the forefront, all other spices are tossed aside. It's not an ugly thing, and the pepper-laden oak experience is intriguing.
I prefer Batch 45 for this reason alone - a nice, tidy, coherent experience. But I can see why Batch 46 might have proponents of its own - it's deep in a different way, and offers more variety. To someone not in love with excess sweetness, Batch 46 would take a slight edge.
Verdict: This is the definitive cask-strength Speyside. This passes beyond Recommended into Must Try/Own territory. Thick, powerful as hell, complex, dense, intense, and elevating mere "sherry sweetness" into an earthy magnificence of its own. Aberlour should be proud of themselves.
Link to Aberlour's website for A'bunadh: http://www.aberlour.com/range/aberlour-abunadh/
No comments:
Post a Comment