Aberlour A'bunadh

If there’s one whisky that doesn’t need another review out there it’s this one, but I couldn’t resist. If you’ve read some of my previous reviews, you know I love sherry casked whisky. This one is about as sherried as it gets. It’s considered the penultimate sherry bomb by many, for good reason. This is a review of batch 45, now opened for roughly two months.

Nose: Very sherry indeed. Dates, raisins, plums, orange rind, cherries and other dark fruits. Cherry cola? The sweetness is counterbalanced with a slight acidic bitterness that I can only compare to wine tannins. Marzipan, licorice and dark chocolate. Christmas cake and cinnamon. A touch of malt in there too. Rich, powerful, and complex.

Palate: The arrival is very interesting. It is immediately a bit dry with some salt. But it quickly explodes with an array of wonderful flavours. Pepper comes in first, then the sherry notes. Loads of fruits. Very dry and very red. Berries, orange, raisins, dates, and apple. The fruity character is somewhat sweeter on the palate than on the nose.

Finish: This is where the oak comes in. Somewhat meaty. Lots of roasted nuts and a bit of charcoal. Quite a dry and fruit heavy finish. Saltier than I expected it to be. Fruits and floral notes carry on and on. Strong sherry fruits with a hint of floral, grapey brandy notes. Lovely. It’s a long, rich, and gorgeous finish.

I’ve always talked about my love of heavily sherried whiskies. Ironic that it’s taken so long for me to write a review of the A’bunadh. It’s precisely my kind of dram. Cask strength, very sherried, and affordable. It’s not my favorite cask strength sherry bomb, but it’s a damn good one by any standard. It’s not a mystery as to why this stuff is so popular. It’s a big whisky with big flavour. An essential for all sherry lovers.