It's Aberlour's ever-popular A'Bunadh single malt Scotch whisky! Each batch of this single malt is matured entirely in Spanish oloroso sherry butts, bestowing huge helpings of dried fruit and festive spice notes to the whisky, after which it's bottled up at full-on cask strength with no chill-filtration.
Zesty notes of chocolate-coated orange wheels join sticky ginger loaf and sherried fruits.
Plump sultanas, prunes, cakey spice, and marmalade, with biscuity malt and toffee apple in tow.
Sweet spices and rich oak linger.
What else is there to say, this one is extremely bitter and has less sherry than older batches. It tastes to me like some cheaper third party trying to forge the original. Man, how did I look forward to another bottle of this - otherwise almost always, despite natural quality fluctuations - great whisky. To all the folks out there, who don't know A'bunadh yet: THIS ONE IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF A'BUNADH!!! Inform yourself of good batches, there are plenty out there. All A'bunadh lovers please heed my earnest warning: This is nasty stuff, makes me wonder if there were any production mishaps! :-(
I am getting a bottle now on that review alone. Best be worth it.
Maybe put a splash of coke in it as well....
The Aberlour a'Bunadh is an ok Speyside whisky, but this batch did not excite me at all. The wood component is very strong, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth that covers almost everything. Maybe on ice.
The spiciness of this whisky is perfect. The sherry isn't overwhelming, and the sweetness complements the spice wonderfully. It's complex for a Speyside, and pulls it off well.
