Aberlour 10 Year Old

Nose, Taste, Finish and Balance are graded out of 2.5 each:

Nose: Malt on the label, malt on the nose. Lots of it. That as well as an uncanny resemblance to Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum. Perhaps in more sophisticated terms I would describe it as cherries drenched in vanilla cream, with a little liquorice on the side. 2.0

Taste: A medium-bodied swathe of vanilla oil offers buoyancy to an oaky raft of mild spice, upon which minted apples and toffeed peppercorns calmly float downstream to the finish. 2.0

Finish: And there is a bigger waterfall to be found at the finish than one might expect. Not a violent crashing one, nor a trickling meandering one. It is steady and long, with a graceful stream of chocolate mints cascading gently into a pool of honeyed barley. The resulting oak-laden spray creates a spicy mist, which floats beautifully over the lingering pool at the foot of the fall. 2.0

Balance: There is a very fluid interplay between rich sweetness and oaky spice throughout, with notes of fruit and mint binding the two together with effortless poise. If I was to be harsh I would say that this whisky would benefit from a slightly higher alcohol volume, so that those delicate flavours could be pushed that little bit further, and allow the river to really run wild. At the moment it feels like there's a dam somewhere upstream limiting the flow. That said this is a delicious whisky, perfect for after dinner and perfect as a "so you think you don't like whisky?" entry level single malt. 2.0