Review #95-97 : Aberlour 16, A'bundah batch #50 & #58
I have been looking forward to this side by side for a while now. I have heard that the Aberlour A'bunadh had a serious vintage effect and could use some oxidization. Lets see if my palate can parse the different vintages.
Aberlour 12 was one of the first bottles I bought along with Macallan 12, Balvenie 12 and Glenrothes Sherry Cask. My Whisky tastes have much changed since those days. However, without further ado, on to the whisky.
Current cask strength sherry bomb power rankings
Glenfarclas 105
Glengoyne CS
Deanston 10 PX
Glendronach CS
Aberlour 16
Speyside - 16 Years - Chill-Filter - e150- Sample ($80 at the local) - 40%
Color - Tawny
Nose - Sweet fruits, apple, vanilla, honey, lemon, dried apricots
Taste - Thin - Toffee, raisins, orange
Finish - Medium - Oranges, simple syrup, touch of chocolate
Overall - 5 - This juice deserves better than this. Over watered, filtered and colored. I can tell there is some decent juice behind this but it is over shadowed by the thin feel. Instead we have the makings of a nice sherry bomb but it comes across as meek. I would put this is the "smooth" whisky category for steakhouses and non-whisky geek guests. It is not my style though.
Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 50
Speyside - NAS - NCF - NCA- Sample ($90 at the local) - 59.6%
Color - Mahogany
Nose - Strong stewed fruits, fig, Tahitian vanilla, some sweetness, and a touch of orange zest
Taste - Orange, chocolate, stewed fruit, toffee
Finish - Long - Stewed fruits, oranges, chocolate, bread pudding
Overall - 6.5 - This is a lovely sherry bomb, it doesn't pretend to be anything complex or different but brings the ruckus. If this was the current A'bunadh, I would probably go out and get a bottle and get to know it.
Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 58
Speyside - NAS- NCF - NCA- Sample ($90 at the local) - 61.1%
Color - Auburn
Nose - This nose is very muted - White fruit - Apples, pears, apricots and vanilla
Taste - Toffee, orange, chocolate
Finish - - Toasted citrus, toffee, chocolate, orange
Overall - 6 - This was much different in the nose than the last batch. The nose was muted, white fruit vs sewed fruit of batch 50. The sweetness was much turned down on the 58 vs 50. All said and done, I think the 50 stands above the 58. Having said that, the 58 is a very nice dram too except for the nose lagged behind.
Post cask strength sherry bomb power rankings
Glenfarclas 105
A'bunadh Batch 50
Glengoyne CS
Deanston 10 PX
Glendronach CS
Abunadh Batch 58
Rating system is price influenced as it is based on my shopping decisions when buying a bottle.
10 Best in Show
9 Great Dram for Special Occasions
8 Worthy of consistent spot in my collection
7 Worth picking up a bottle if in the mood
6 I would buy a bottle if it went on sale
5 I would drink it happily if offered
4 I would drink it if offered on the rocks
3 Maybe some soda will make this potable
2 I'll Pass
1 Toilet cleaner
Inclusive Ratings
Overall 6.1
Standard Deviation 0.92
Skew 0.66
Kurtosis -0.51
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