Aberlour A Bunadh Alba Speyside Single Malt – Batch #6

Does the Alba holds it’s own weight against the A’bunadh?

DISTILLERY	Aberlour
REGION	Speyside – Aberlour, Scotland
AGE	NAS
STRENGTH	62% ABV (124 Proof)
MASHBILL	100% Malted Barley
MSRP	$80

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GLANCE

Clear with pale to medium intensity. Lemon to gold hue

NOSE

Clean with pronounced intensity. There is an ethanol burn initially. After the whisky settles, the aromas begin to appear. There are biscuits with honey and black tea. Oak, vanilla and hint of cinnamon with cooked pear. There was a note of orange rind seeped in hot honey water.

PALATE

Off-dry to medium sweetness with mouth-filling texture. Pronounced flavor intensity. There are notes of honey, pear, apple and vanilla + oak. There is also a floral essence but before I can capture more flavors the palate becomes very dry. Some pepper and fennel enters the back of the palate.

FINISH

Long with a deep Kentucky hug feel. I found it to be very drying. There are notes of leather, tobacco with some vanilla and pepper. Some complexity.

CLOSING REMARKS

I enjoy Aberlour but I am not in love with this product. Having said that, I can see myself cracking this open another day and having a pour. Aberlour has another product, which is more popular that is called the A’bunadh. In Gaelic it means “the original” or “origin”. A’bunadh is meant to showcase a pure single malt experience. A single malt that is relatively young and at cask strength and no blending. A’bunadh has the bold sherry influence while the A’bunadh Alba here has the bold bourbon influence coming from bourbon casks. In some ways I appreciate the simplicity and the purity of a single malt the A’bunadh Alba provides. It in a way stands out when the market is flooded with scotches that have all sorts of blends, finishes etc. I thoroughly enjoyed the nose and the beginning of the palate but this all rather quickly changed as the tannic spice and dryness started to become overpowered. Now the price comes into factor for me. $80 MSRP for this dram is steep when considering the specs. For me a MSRP hovering around or just under $60 would be a more palatable price when I consider what I tasted and how often I would even reach for it. Try it at a bar first or get a sample from a buddy before buying in my opinion, unless you are an Aberlour fan. Cheers!

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