Reviews #264-270: Aberlour A'Bunadh Batches 56,58, 59, 62, 63, 64

Speyside - NAS- NCF - NCA - $80

It is Burns Night and I thought a lovely way to celebrate was to line up a half dozen Aberlour A'Bunadh's and see how they compare side by side.  Aberlour A'bunadh is a classic sherry bomb: No age statement; cask strength and all sherry matured.  As I currently have 3 bottles of this, I would say the line as a whole ranks as an 8 on my scale, worthy of a consistent spot in my collection.  I am going to try them all the same.  One once pours, first tried neat, then with water. My notes will be shorter than usual as I am trying to get through 6 without completely blowing my palate out half way. Notes with water in italics

Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 56 61.2%

Nose - Fruit cake, apricots, treacle, leathery caramel, vanilla - Stewed fruits, fruit cake, must more muted
Palate - Apricots, treacle, stewed apples - Figs, prunes, treacle, spice

Finish - Medium -Raisins, christmas spices, leather - Much spicier with cinnamon 

Overall - This is not my favorite in the line up. This got overly spicy with water, and it drowned out the rest of the finish.  It did seem a little hot without water on the other hand.

Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 58 61.1%

Nose - Apricots, vanilla, spotted dick, must more muted nose - Opens up with just a fruit salad
Palate - Apricots, raisins, fruit and more fruit - Fruit salad, 
Finish - Long - Prunes, baking spice - Figs, treacle, leather, nutmeg

Overall - This is much less complex but much bigger in fruit.  This one opens up with a few drops of water.  It is just so rich and fruity.  This is what a sherry bomb should be.  

Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 59 60.9%

Nose - Fruit cakes, raisins, almonds, vanilla, apricots - Strangely made this a lot more alcohol heavy
Palate - Apricots, christmas pudding - No real change

Finish - Medium - Prunes, baking spices, leather - Now the fruit fades into a strong spice and new oak lingering

Overall - This was a decent batch.  It drinks really well neat with a nice nose. I don't think that water helped this out at all and I would not add any to this going forward.  

Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 62 59.9%

Nose - Dates, must, treacle - Turns to musty alcohol with water
Palate - Dates, Stewed Apples, toffee -  No changes

Finish - Medium - Fruit cakes, nutmeg, leather, sandalwood - Once again, it gets spicier with water

Overall - I liked this one on its own but side-by-side just makes this feel a little limp by comparison.  Also, this one doesn't benefit from water.

Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 63 61.2%

Nose - Treacle, raisins, must, tobacco - Fruit cake vanilla
Palate - Fruit salad, toffee - Apricots, stewed fruit

Finish - Medium - Dates, almonds, spice - Once again spicier with water

Overall - This one is just thin.  Thin in the mouth, thin in taste. It is fine but it is confusing how this how thin this tastes at cask strength.  

Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 64 59.9%

Nose - Fruit cakes, treacle, leather, vanilla, almonds
Palate - Fruit cake, toffee, baking spice - added sweetness

Finish - Long -Figs, prunes, sandalwood, baking spice, leather - caramel comes into the finish

Overall - This one was a very nice batch.  It is big, tasty, and everything I want in a sherry bomb.  It is on par with Batch 58.  This one also changes the least with a little bit of water.  A very good batch.

Overall Rankings

This was a lot of fun.  When consumed individually, they don't seem that different.  When lined up side by side, there is so much difference.  I am happy I made it through the lineup without blowing out my palate too much.  This was a fun Burns night tasting.  

"And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne." - Robert Burns

A great batch

Batch 58

Batch 64

What A'Bunadh should be

Batch 59

Batch 62

Pass on these

Batch 56

Batch 63

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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
5.5 I really enjoyed but it will never be priced at where I would buy a bottle

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 -0.16