#AberlourTT

Well… with all the excitement about Malt Maniacs Awards 2013 I forgot I had to write my review of the Aberlour Tweet Tasting #AberlourTT. I am a real fan of the kind of sherried whiskies Aberlour creates so when Steve from The Whisky Wire proposed me to join this tasting I was really happy. #thanksyou

Five whiskies to enjoy: 12 and 16 Double Matured Casks, Abunadh 45, 18yo and a 12yo no chill-filtered. It is not exactly the order I would have chosen because the Abunadh is bottled at very high strength ( and it is a fantastic whisky ) and will put the others in a hard time.

Ann Miller, International Brand Ambassador of Chivas Brothers shared the tasting with us and a very funny gossip about a peated Aberlour; it seems that during a dinner with the distillery manager someone asked him for a peated Aberlour and then he took the whisky glass and put a piece of peat inside and said “there you have”. #lol

Well, enough smalltalk… let’s hear the whiskies.

Aberlour 12 years old Double Cask Matured

First dram of the night is a double cask matured, sherry and “traditional”.

“Lovely nose on this Aberlour but I really miss a bit of muscle on the palate... maybe 43% or 46% would have made it awesome”

88

Aberlour is always a good choice - one of the best value Speyside malts around.

This double matured version is a mix of traditional oak and sherry casks and is rich and fruity with delicious Christmas cake notes.

If you like this whisky you should try one of the awesome cask strength Aberlour A'bunadh

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. honey, malt, citrus, fruity, vanilla, cinnamon, pepper.

Palate (88): light, smooth. honey, fruits, figs, banana, vanilla, peaches, citrus, wood, liquorice, spices.

Finish (88): longer than average. honey, spices, liquorice.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 12 Year Old / Double Cask Matured Speyside Whisky with 88 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

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Aberlour 16 years old Double Cask Matured

“Lovely palate but I prefer the Aberlour 12yo Double Cask... although this one has a lovely sherry character. Arrgh! It is so hard”

88

70cl / 43% / Distillery Bottling - A recent release from long-time TWE favourite Aberlour, this 16 year-old has been double-matured in traditional oak and sherry casks. Deep and complex, with lip-smacking spices - not as sherry-sweet as the 18yo.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (88): more than average. honey, toffee, citrus, plums, creme brule.

Palate (89): powerful, oily. honey, tobacco, spices, pepper, citrus, apples, wood, leather.

Finish (88): longer than average. honey, citrus, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 16 Year Old / Double Cask Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky with 88 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Single Malt Whisky online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £43.95
• Buy on Master of Malt for £47.63

Aberlour A’bunadh 45

Aberlour Abunadh is a classic sherry monster. Matured in oloroso sherry oaks this whisky is crafted in single batches that range from very good to deliciously good.

“As usual a pleasure. The biggest surprise with A'Bunadh is that there are no surprises. I love this whisky”

91

Batch 45 of Aberlour's popular NAS whisky, A'Bunadh.
Bottled at 60.2% and heavy on the sherry, as always. This is an excellent value-for-money sherry beast!

This dram has a tawny-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, citrus, raisins, wood, vanilla, cinnamon, mango.

Palate (92): powerful, oily. honey, leather, wood, vanilla, tobacco, citrus, cocoa.

Finish (91): longer than average. honey, tobacco, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour a'Bunadh Batch 45 with 91 points over 100.

Aberlour 18 years old

“Maybe before the A'Bunadh... Quite good whisky but in my opinion it miss that little something that turns a whisky into a masterpiece”

89

70cl / 43% / Distillery Bottling - This 18yo expression is an excellent addition to the range from Aberlour (already one of our favourite distilleries thanks to the excellent a'bunadh). One of the stars of the show when it was launched at Whisky Live in 2008: rich and fruity, with a great textured mouthfeel.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. honey, wood, raisins, vanilla, citrus, flowers, cinnamon.

Palate (89): smooth, oily. honey, wood, vanilla, citrus, spices, candies, raisins.

Finish (89): longer than average. honey, ginger, candies.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 18 Year Old with 89 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Single Malt Whisky online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on Master of Malt for £84.38
• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £84.55

Aberlour 12 years old non chill-filtered

The last and surprisingly a ex-bourbon cask after so many sherried whiskies… let’s see…

“Lovely Aberlour. Clear, direct, without any sherry cloak. Just pure Aberlour in a bottle”

90

An interesting variant on Aberlour's usual 12 year old whisky, not only changing the proportions of different whiskies that are used to make the expression, but also leaving it un-chillfiltered. This means that it retains the full body and flavour of the whisky from the cask, although it may go cloudy if water is added or it gets cold.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, candies, flowers, vanilla, toffee, spices.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, vanilla, citrus, spices, flowers, pears, oranges.

Finish (90): longer than average. honey, vanilla, liquorice.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 12 Year Old / Non Chill-Filtered Speyside Whisky with 90 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Single Malt Whisky online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on Master of Malt for £42.23
• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £42.35

Miguel says…

A fantastic whisky tasting with special mention for the Aberlour Abunadh 45, always fantastic, although this time it is even better. A real pleasure and a huge thanks you to Steve and Ann for a great night.

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