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Aberlour 10 Year Old

My 'Go-To' Whisky

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@YakLordReview by @YakLord

8th Jun 2012

0

Aberlour 10 Year Old
  • Nose
    20
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    21
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    85

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

My wife gave this bottle back in April 2011, the night I handed in my Master's Research Paper (a friend gave me a bottle of Talisker 10 the same evening), and it has been my go to, comfort dram ever since, beating out the Glenlivet 12, Glenmorangie 10, and Balvenie Double Wood in terms of nose, taste, finish, and overall balance. And now here I sit, with the last dram in my hand, finally getting around to writing something about it.

Colour: a nice, rich, reddish-amber, with one reasonably thick legs.

Nose: very soft sherry, ripe plums, dark chocolate, orange rind.

Taste: sweet, medium thick syrup on the palate, with sherry and fruit (cherries?).

Finish: long and satisfying, with a distinct sherry flavour.

Balance: the flavours are very well integrated, and while it is not as complex as say, the Talisker, it is certainly miles ahead of the Glenlivet (but then again, I seem to favour sherried whisky, so that is my personal bias speaking).

Price Point: at $45.95 CAD (as of June 7, 2012), it is cheaper than most other single malts in the age range, which makes it a very decent daily dram, and one I would recommend (and have recommended) to people new to Single Malt Whisky.

Nose:

Body:

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4 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

Thanks for your nice review. I am a big fan of Aberlour 10. I feel that its quality is grossly underestimated because it is inexpensive and "only" 10 years old. It is great stuff.

12 years ago 0

@YakLord
YakLord commented

@Victor: thanks for your kind comment! As you pointed out, inexpensive and youngish doesn't necessarily mean poor quality. There is some very good young and affordable whisky out there! (thinking about Laphroaig QC, Bowmore 12, Amrut Single Malt, etc.)

12 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@Yaklord, oh, yeah, "young" in years can be "old" in maturity. 7 to 12 years for Laphroaig QC and Bowmore 12 is not so very 'young'compared to what is available outside Scotland. Try some 3 yo McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt, or some 3 or so year old Stranahan's Colorado (malt) Whiskey to show that 7-12 years is really pretty "old" compared to what can be great "young".

And those 3 (to 5) year olds will be more the rule than the exception when dealing with the tropical and subtropical climate distilleries in Taiwan, India and any other warm weather place that decides to get into the distilling and maturation business. "Maturation" rather than years, is the goal, and whiskies mature quickly in warm to hot places, with small casks, and with new wood.

12 years ago 0

@Wills
Wills commented

Thx for the nice review. I startet with the A'bunadh because of the reputation. But I have to get my hands on this one too!

@Victor true words, but Aberlour matures in Scotland and not in USA/India/Taiwan...

Of course the quarter casks accelerates the maturing process and there are more factors like this. But in general a 10yo is relatively young for a Scotch Whisky. Ofc this should tell nothing about the quality in general.

12 years ago 0