Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 49

By Barry Bradford on November 2, 2014 • ( 1 Comment )

Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 49

Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
Origin: Aberlour Distillery
Bottling: Offical (Pernod Ricard)
ABV: 60.1%
Cost: £33.60 for 70cl from Waitrose
Score: 85/100

What they say:

With each batch carefully made by hand, Aberlour A’bunadh is a unique cask strength whisky that has achieved cult status among whisky connoisseurs.

Meaning ‘the original’ in Gaelic, A’bunadh is made in homage to Aberlour’s founder, James Fleming, using only traditional methods without chill filtration or other modern processes.

What I say:

Batch 49 of Aberlour’s A’Bunadh bottlings which seem to be coming out at least 2 per year if not more. It is always interesting to try these as each batch does promise a little variation from the last. This one was sampled at WOLS 14/7 whisky and chocolate tasting, during which it’s sweetness was paired to rich dark chocolate

Colour:

Ruby amber

Nose:

Sweet honey and toffee, treacle almost, Demerara sugar, nutty almond, walnut and pecans in caramelised sugar

Taste:

Sweet toffee, sugary tablet, caramelised sugar, like the top of a crème brulee, treacle, molasses, hints of hazelnut, macadamia, walnut and pecan swirl through this intensely sweet sugariness, a little fruity and zesty orange and hints of candied or toffee red apples

Finish:

Medium, sweet oaky, nutty sweetness

Overall:

Another stonking batch from Aberlour, perhaps more biased towards the sweet side, this one may make your teeth hurt. Paired with the bittering influence of high percentage cocoa dark chocolate however helped temper this sweetness long enough to reveal some of the other fruity and nutty notes from the Aberlour spirit and sherry cask infuences. A dram for sweet-tooths!