Aberlour A'bunadh Alba 62.7%
Distillery notes
Meaning ‘the original’ in Gaelic, A’bunadh Alba is made in homage to Aberlour’s founder, James Fleming.
A’bunadh Alba is matured in ex-American Oak resulting in an aroma of ripe red apples, along with honey, vanilla and a hit of cinnamon. A’bunadh Alba is bottled at cask strength resulting in a sweet whisky with a creamy texture.
Nose: Sweet, with a pronounced aroma of ripe red apples along with honey, vanilla and a hint of cinnamon.
Palate: Sweet, with a creamy, oily texture. As the whisky opens up elements of citrus zest, cinnamon and dried apple emerge.
Tasting Notes:
Appearance: Yellow gold, forms a thin line which breaks quickly and falls and medium-slow thin legs.
Nose: The high abv is immediately noticeable, with honey and vanilla dominating after the initial ethanol heat. Orchard fruit follow on, particularly red apple skin, with zesty citrus and a hint of peppery spice.
Palate: Honey, butter pastries with vanilla custard, tropical fruit and lemon zest. With addition of water, the initial oily mouthfeel becomes more creamy, together with enhanced notes of nutty oak, vanilla and ripe apple.
Finish: Long, the lemon zest continues along with sweet vanilla and cinnamon warmth. Chilli heat gradually builds.
Summary: A good, solid whisky and a completely different beast to the sherry-driven A'bunadh. This is a whisky which really benefits from a little water, not only does it open up to reveal more fruit and vanilla custard but it also reduces the hefty spirit heat and produces a luxurious creamy mouthfeel.
Priced at £85 for a cask strength whisky it's hard to fault, although this one does have a bit of a feeling of youth and immaturity. If I were to choose between the two, I would probably go for the heavy sherry influence of it's A'bunadh stable mate.
If you would like to know more about Aberlour and their whiskies, follow the link to the company website.
Transparency: This sample was part of a 5 dram sample set, purchased from The Spirits Embassy. No goods or other incentives were exchanged, offered or requested for this independent review.
