Review #9: Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 62

Meaning ‘the original’ in Gaelic, A’bunadh is made in homage to Aberlour’s founder, James Fleming. A’bunadh is a whisky hand-made from start to finish with each batch being created to ensure a rich and complex flavour of moist raisin, and homemade fruit cake. It is bottled at cask strength resulting in a robust and deeply intense, sherried whisky.

This bottle was given to me by a good friend and fellow co-founder of a Whiskey Wednesday club at my old job. And as you can see, it's almost done. This is another bottle we've had with us for a while now and is something that I do gravitate towards every now and then.

This Aberlour is such a beautiful whiskey in the glass, dark auburn gold. Even when pouring a dram you start to get some of the aromas fill the air around it. Seeing as this is a cask strength dram, I will give it a sniff and small sip before adding a bit of water to lower that ABV and bring out more of the aromas and flavors.

Nose: On the nose I get a lot of orange mixed with spices, it smells like it'll have a bit of a bite. There is some sweetness in there, like a super ripe and juicy orange. There are a some sherry and borderline port notes in here as well. With a bit of water the spices die down a bit, revealing even more orange notes.

Palate: This is where this whiskey really shines, it's got such complexity to it that it can be hard to get all the notes in just one sip. Here the orange continues from the nose, bringing with it tons of spices, dark chocolaty bitterness and finishing off with the sherry notes. It's very well rounded even at cask strength. Adding in some water, the bitter chocolate and some dryness really covers the mouth.

As you can tell with how much is left, this is a whiskey I've really enjoyed over the past few years. Will I restock when this is done? Most likely. I would recommend this if you enjoy sherry cask finished whiskeys. It's well rounded, very nicely balanced whiskey with a mix of flavors.