Bold? Am I bold and 'cheeky' to assert that a mild-mannered 'little old' Speyside whisky like Aberlour 10 yo can be a 'destination whisky'?
I think not. I very much consider myself to be a card-carrying member of the 'Big Flavours Club'. After all, if you gave me my 'druthers, my #1 preferred whisk(e)y strength would be 68-72% ABV, something almost unimaginably strong for Scottish Malt drinkers, but obtainable with American whiskeys. Sure, fave Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye is a mere 62-65% ABV, but it is TRYING to be strong, and flavourful...
But, I don't just like the Big Flavours whiskies alone. If I did I'd have to toss the majority of Scotch out the window, and I LIKE the majority of Scotch.
Power is not all, even power-combined-with-beauty is not all,...there is ALWAYS a place for beauty alone.
And that is where a whisky like Aberlour 10 comes in... mild-mannered, beautiful, perfectly balanced, refreshing. I can only speak of the two bottles of it from which I have sampled, but they were quite consistent with one another, even though one was a restaurant bar bottle of indeterminate age.
This much-taken-for-granted malt is not currently distributed in the USA. Many thanks to @Pudge72 for procuring a bottle for me in Ontario. The reviewed bottle has been open a little less than one year, and has changed very little in its flavours during that period.
Nose: moderate intensity beautiful aromatic malt, wine, and floral flavours, and a bit of vanilla
Taste: as in the nose, beautiful malt, wine, and floral flavours of rose and carnation
Finish: really quite long for a mild-mannered pretty sort of whisky. All of the flavours hold up well. Lovely
Balance: 'Big Flavours Only' whisky buffs tend to look down their noses at Aberlour 10. I consider this to be a grossly underestimated whisky. My bottle of Aberlour 10 has some of the best balance I have ever encountered in a whisky, and I personaly prefer it to both the Aberlour 12 yo and Aberlour 16 yo expressions. I consider Aberlour 10 yo to be one of the very best examples of a beautiful extremely well-balanced mild-mannered malt, along with the now scarce Balvenie 10 yo Founders Reserve.
Is Aberlour 10 yo a "Starter Whisky"? Yes, if you're very lucky to start here. It is also a "Finisher Whisky". Is this a "Beginner's Malt", only? Totally ridiculous. I sip this when I am in the same mood for beauty as when I reach for Talisker 18 or Bushmills 21.
In a category of mildly-flavoured malt whiskies Aberlour 10 easily rates 95 from me for its perfect balance. Among all whiskies I rate Aberlour 10 90/100, which merely reflects my overall preference for strong flavours and completely undiluted whiskies.
@GentlemanGrimm, thanks for your nice restrained review. If you read through the years and years of previous Connosr Aberlour 10 reviews you will see that a few of us believe strongly that Aberlour 10 is grossly undervalued as to its quality. The fact that a whisky may be inexpensive, easy to find, and relatively mild in flavour leads many to dismiss it. Aberlour 10 is basic barley-malt whisky. Many many malt whisky buffs get bored by just barley, oak, and just a little wine influlence. I do not get bored by barley-flavoured whisky, if the barley-malt tastes great.
While Aberlour 10 is easy to find and inexpensive in the UK, it is almost impossible to find in the USA...so the US Aberlour 10 fans tend to value it rather highly. I can buy Aberlour 12 or 16 yo any day of the week here, but I much prefer to drink the much less expensive but non-existent Aberlour 10 yo. Truth be told, I love the Aberlour 10 yo, and don't really much like Aberlour 12 or 16 yo. I've never bought a bottle of Aberlour 12 or 16 and probably never will. I do expect, though, to one day replace that one bottle of Aberlour 10 yo which @pudge72 helped to get me in Canada.