Number two in the NAS tasting box is a brand new release from one of my favorite distilleries, Aberlour. It's in the town of Aberlour, just a few minutes from Dufftown, the largest malt whisky producing town in Scotland. Speyside contains over half the distilleries in Scotland in just a small part of the highlands. Whiskies from the region are known to be light and sweet, and rarely have peat.
We briefly stopped at the Aberlour distillery on our first trip to Scotland in 2016. We only visited the shop, and I wish we had done a tour.
I like Aberlour because I like whiskies matured in sherry casks, and they do sherry very well. In particular I like A'Bunadh, a cask strength small batch whisky. I've had a couple bottles and would always like to have one.
This one is new, and appears to be styled like the A'Bunadh but is also a little cheaper. So my assumption is that it's likely to be a little weaker (in terms of ABV) and more approachable version. Here's the Master of Malt page.
Smell: Definite sherry but not super heavy
Color: Reddish, but again not very dark
Taste: Sherry sweetness and oak, and not much else
Finish: A little bit of spice deep in the throat that lingers, but otherwise short
I'm not impressed this one. My thoughts before I tried it were right, and not in a good way. Definitely similar to other Aberlour expressions but just doesn't have the punch in flavor, burn, anything. It's something I'll enjoy tonight (thanks Flaviar!) but next time I'll either pay the up-charge for the A'Bunadh or get the cheaper 12 year. Oh well.
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