Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Matured

Last night I decided to crack open yet another sample from my whisky calender from Master of Malt, I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to crack open Aberlour 12 year old Double Cask Matured.

Aberlour 10 year old was one of the very first single malts that I ever tried and considering how much I love Aberlour Abunadh, you pretty much pick the batch, I was quite pleased to see a sample in my calender, especially of one I hadn't tried before.

Now the Aberlour Double Cask Matured is just what it sounds, a whisky that has been matured in two different casks. In this case traditional oak barrels and sherry barrels. And you can definitely pick up hints of the traditional oak barrels on this lovely little whisky.

I enjoyed this whisky over a lovely 90 minute period while I sat down and ate dinner with my wife, watching the new crime mystery show, Elementary.

An interesting little nose on this Speyside as the aromas waft out of the glencairn as I sit here.

You can immediately smell the sherry casks influence on this whisky with aromas of sultanas and raisins, vanilla coming off it, but there's more, as time goes on more and more the traditional oak barrels have their say, with amusingly enough toasted oak, then cinnamon, apples, hints of smoke and after about an hour or so, maple syrup all coming off the nose.

Very enjoyable.

When I take a sip it is immediately clear once again that the sherry casks have had their say, with sultanas coming through clear as day, then the oak speaks up once more as the whisky slowly goes more sweet and spicy with cinnamon, honey and vanilla all coming out. At the very end of the dram, after about an hour or so, floral notes enter into the palate, but never overpoweringly so.

A Soft fruity finish with apricots, grapes, oak and vanilla finish off the whisky and making for an enjoyable dram.

Sadly I haven't found this whisky for sell here in Perth, however I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find it running at around $80 or so AUS which isn't a bad price to pay for this whisky, as I said it was quite enjoyable and something I'd be happy to try again.