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Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 50

Andalusian Muscle Part II

6 388

@cricklewoodReview by @cricklewood

12th Dec 2020

0

Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 50
  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    88

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

I don't think there's anything to say about Aberlour A'bunadh that hasn't been covered before.

The review was done in part from a sample graciously provided by @Nozinan but I also realized the 1/4 bottle I recently acquired after the dissolution of my whisky club is also from the same batch.

Nose: Sweet, Maraschino cherry, brighter than the Glendronach Cask Strength batch IV I tried against it. Slight acetone, fruitcake. It's closed up needs time to open up it adds a bit of cured ham and a bit of caraway.

Palate: Oranges, tobacco, leather, slight struck match, ginger and cloves.

Finish: Glacé fruits, vanilla cigarillos, a couple of brussel sprouts with a pinch of curry, paraffin and dark chocolate.

Insufferable Blab: There's definitely a style to A'bunadh, bright with confit fruits, tobacco, super astringent. The first sip dries your mouth and teeth. It's got a nervousness to it too, slightly brittle. The low end is pleasant especially those tobacco/leather/cherry notes but it's not the most complex thing. It's a Marshall stacks to 11 kind of thing.

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3 comments

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@cricklewood Rumour was that most of those stacked Marshalls were empty shells, just there to look good on stage. sunglasses

I was never much of an A'Bunadh fanboy and haven't had any since Batch 21. I'd give it another try if the price hadn't gone stupid out here.

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood commented

@BlueNote yes indeed the extra stacks were frequently duds. I think I have a soft-spot for A'bunadh because it was formative in my early whisky journey. I used to buy a bottle every Christmas, I haven't done that in a while.

I'm just not thrilled by sherry bombs anymore, at least not so much that I want a whole bottle. Unless it's got lots of other underlying characteristics.

That said some of these A'bunadh batches can be quite stellar especially when the bottle has been open a while.

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@cricklewood A'Bunadh (batch 33) played a key role in my whisky education. It was the first whisky that made me go wow. When my whisky club met 3-4 times a year (and when my range of experience and cabinet selection was more narrow) I used to finish 1 bottle in a year. Even so, trying to keep up with all the batches left me a huge backlog. Now the bottles I have open last much longer. For instance my batch 49 was opened 2.5 years ago and is almost done. The 50 was opened a year later and I still have over half left (and hasn't been poured in almost 10 months).

3 years ago 2Who liked this?