Login“Because you can't buy happiness... but you can buy whisky and that's pretty much the same thing”
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Welcome to my new range of posts, the Fucking Thief!. What are they about? Well, I stealthy run across the social networks and grab photos from whisky lovers to taste their whiskies.
Is this your photo? Write me to fthief@awardrobeofwhisky.com and I will pay you… homage… and share with A Wardrobe of Whisky’s readers your experience on the tasting. Slainte!
Well, today we have a bit of mixed feelings, Aberlour and Four Roses with Chivas 18yo and Glenlivet 15yo… and what the fuck… Jameson. Someone drank a bit of here and there before putting these bottles together.
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
A blind tasting is a quite interesting experience because tasting whiskies in this way you really pay more attention to the whisky and less to the bottle. I have tasted whiskies that I have considered good but nothing special ( Is there such a thing as bad whisky?! ) and then I discovered that I were tasting a 39 years old single malt. Have I known before hand what I was tasting I am 100% sure it would have affected my rating.
Master of Malt sent me some samples of their new range That Boutique-y and as I happen to have some samples too myself I decided to do a super tasting of this new ramge of whiskies!.
First thing that grab your eye on these whiskies is the precious labels they have created for each of them. And also the fact that the whiskies are bottled at cask strength. Looks like most of them are a vatting of several casks and there is no age statement in any of them but if they are as good as this first batch… :)
That Boutique-y Whisky Company
That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottles Scotch Single Malt Whiskies from a variety of renowned distilleries like Ardbeg, Macallan or Aberlour in limited batches. These whiskies are adorned with cultish comic-book style labels which feature prominent figures from the whisky industry upon them, as well as other little details for you to find!
The whiskies Batch 1
I have tasted several whiskies from the first batch and most of them are already sold out by the time you read this. On their webpage it is available right now a second batch of whiskies.
I have joined Jean-Marie Putz of whisky-distilleries.info and twenty other whisky zealots in the fifth blind tasting session of this year.
The principle is that whisky producers supply whisky they select themselves, according to their marketing goals. The sent whisky bottles are sampled and sent to about 20 tasters who write their impressions about every whisky. Their impressions and their quotation are published in Whisky distilleries blog.
The Whisky Tasting sessions are a flight of six whiskies tasted blind. Usually bottles are from independent bottlers that are really strong sellers in central Europe.
The samples arrived a few weeks ago in a supercool box. Each samples was 2.5cl and bottled in a small flask. Work has been been delaying me on tasting the six samples but finally this Thursday I had a few spare hours to taste them.
Usually I try to short the samples as explained in the how to taste whisky article, but this time I just decided to enjoy and go ahead. Mainly because if I sort the samples I will lack of time to taste them properly.
Sample Nº 1
“Unpromising nose but then a really delicious taste. Maybe Redbreast?”
89
Impressive whisky from Macduff distillery bottled by Malts of Scotland from the 1980 vintage.
This single cask malt has been matured in a bourbon hogshead and bottled at cask strength at a whopping 54,1% abv.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (87): more than average.
floral, honey, spices, vanilla, citrus.
Very irish style.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 17 years Anam Na H-Alba with 88 points over 100.
Sample Nº 3
“Very nice sherried whisky. I think I have already tasted this one...”
89
A single malt whisky distilled in the Macallan distillery.
This whisky has been bottled at 47.1% abv from the 1989 vintage by Whiskies of Scotland
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
toffee, floral, vanilla, peaches.
Very closed nose but really nice.
Palate (90): smooth, powerful, oily.
honey, wood, vanilla, citrus, spices, cinnamon, tobacco.
I am sure I have tasted this one before... umm... no clue right now.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macallan 1989 Whiskies of Scotland with 89 points over 100.
Sample Nº 4
“Superb nose! I am almost sure this one is An Cnoc single malt”
90
This vatted whisky, or blended malt whisky as the Scotch Whisky Association prefers, is the result of blending together a Dailuaine 1999 with a Linkwood 1998.
Bottled by Jean Boyer - Le Puits à Whisky at 43%. This bottled belongs to batch 116.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
toffee, vanilla, citrus.
An Cnoc! It must be an Cnoc! Delicious!
Finish (89): longer than average.
honey, spices, nuts.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macallan 1990 Fino Sherry Hogshead Malts of Scotland with 90 points over 100.
In conclusion
It has been a very nice tasting, really fun. And I have tasted two Macallans! Tasting the first one I was really really sure that I have already tasted it. Also really impressed by a very nice Bunnahabhain with its incredible peat and sherry style.
“Lovely as always. You can't go wrong with an Aberlour A'bunadh”
90
Aberlour A'bunadh is a cask strength Speyside single malt whisky that is released by the distillery in small batches each with a slightly different profile but all on the sherry monsters style.
“Wonderful whisky!. This Aberlour is really a no-brainer buying option if you like sherried whiskies. Batches vary between them but they are all rather good.”
91
If you want intense, spicy Oloroso sherry, masses of character, and at natural cask strength, all for under £40, it has to be a'Bunadh. Batch 35 is a stinker!
Aberlour A'bunadh is a cask strength Speyside single malt whisky that is released by the distillery in small batches each with a slightly different profile but all on the sherry monsters style.
If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you’re already dead!
The movie
Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius.
Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death.
The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies.
The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.
The dram: Aberlour A’bunadh
A really great dram at a very reasonable price for cask-strength whisky of this exceptional quality.
Aberlour a’bunadh is hugely sherried and intensely flavoured: a whisky to cherish.
Looking at the glass this whisky remind me of the barley fields, of the grapes and raisins drying under the sun, of the dark bodegas at Jerez. It’s a powerful dram that can light even darkest places.
Smelling it is like swimming in nuts, honey, sherry and flowers. Something that transcends the drink itself…
“ The best sherry whisky I have tried so far. So intense flavor: the wood, the sherry, the honey. Impressive.”
95
This great single malt whisky is the Batch 29 from the astounding range of a'Bunadh whisky from Aberlour. All a'Bunadh are bottled at cask strength.
a'Bunadh is Gaelic for Original. These are small batches crafted in the old fashioned style of big bodied, sherry matured whisky.
Aberlour A'bunadh is a cask strength Speyside single malt whisky that is released by the distillery in small batches each with a slightly different profile but all on the sherry monsters style.
Nose (92): inexistent.
sweet, fruity, mango, honey, vanilla, peaches, tobacco, spices.
First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.
Palate (100): .
sweet, hot, spices, vanilla, sherry, honey, tobacco.
Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.
Finish (92): no finish.
honey, vanilla, tobacco, spices, sherry.
Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour a'Bunadh Batch 29 with 95 points over 100.
Share your thoughts! 
Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £37.45
