Aberlour A'bunadh Analysis! Batch 52 & 62 Review
Background
I don’t think a single whiskey has been recommended to me more than Aberlour A’bunadh, and it’s easy to see why! When I tell people I’m coming to Scotch from American whiskeys, and heavily sherried offerings have really been my gateway, this reasonably available, cask strength, and fully matured in Oloroso Sherry Butts offering is clearly top of mind for people to recommend!
A’bunadh means “the original” in Gaelic, and is meant as an homage to founder James Fleming. The legend of A’bunadh goes that, in 1975 as the second set of stills were being installed at the distillery, workers discovered a 1898 bottling of Aberlour wrapped in a newspaper from that same year about the distillery fire. Being the scholars they were, they decided to drink most of the bottle, you know for science, but saved the last bit to be analyzed so that Aberlour could try to recreate this very single malt. While Aberlour claims most of their offerings are at least twelve years and aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, A’bunadh is NAS and aged exclusively in Oloroso Sherry butts. They also have, in my personal opinion, one of the most annoying wax tops to open that I have ever encountered 😂. Let’s explore these two batches, 52 & 62, from 2015 & 2018, respectively!
Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 52 (NAS, 121 Proof)
Nose: Mulling spices, black cherry and prunes. Robust sherry notes front and center! Dark, inviting fruits.
Palate: Cranberry ocean spray, prunes, dark chocolate, it’s again much more dark fruit forward.
Finish: Tart dark fruit juice, I’ll just go ahead and double down on cranberry. Dark chocolate covered raisins.
Great to Excellent (7.5/10)
Overall: Holding up these two glasses side by side, batch 52 is decently darker and, sure enough, it just tastes like a much more robust sherry influence. Or maybe there’s just older stock in this batch. The alcohol is incredibly well integrated, and this drinks far less hot than batch 62.
Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 62 (NAS, 119.8 Proof)
Nose: The dark fruits are a little more muted compared to batch 52. Sticky toffee pudding, orange bundt cake, dessert forward, not quite as dark but more baked goods forward.
Palate: Burnt orange peels, caramel chews, pralines, cinnamon and oak. It’s a little spicy honestly! There’s some heat to it as well, and it coats the palate almost like a chili oil. Not that spicy, but I can’t quite put my finger on a better descriptor.
Finish: I’m still getting a fair bit of an oily, orange peel note. There’s also some dark chocolate here and a general tannic sensation pulling at the edges of the palate.
Very Good to Great (6.5/10)
Overall: I really like this, I don’t LOVE it, but I really like it. It drinks a little hot, but that’s a fair trade off for the rich flavors present. This fun, toasted orange/orange peel/orange oil note is a lovely throughline from start to finish on the sip.
