Review #315 - Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 074
One of the classic, best-known cask strength Scotch single malts - this is Aberlour A'bunadh. Here, we have the 74th batch, though at the time of writing, Aberlour has now passed the 80 batch mark. There's no age statement on this bottle, but we do get the assurance of no chill filtration.
Maturation for the A'bunadh single malt takes place in ex-Oloroso sherry casks, specifically butts, which are made from Spanish oak - that should provide a spicier experience when compared to the same cask made from American white oak. Batch 074 was bottled in June of 2022.
Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 074
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 87 (2024)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 60% ABV
Cask Makeup: Spanish oak ex-Oloroso sherry butts
Details: Not chill filtered; batch 074, bottled 2022
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 4 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Quite woody or oaky - baking spices, too, with cinnamon, brown sugar, pepper, and some nutty notes. Fruits arrive in the form of tart, tangy prune and fig, as well as some orange seeds; sweet caramel comes in later. A nice mix of sweet and drying scents.
Palate: Medium-thick, with quite a bit of heat - slightly raw and spicy. Fruits start the flavors: cranberry juice, raspberries, maybe some strawberry and blood oranges; then we get a chocolatey side, almost like a Mexican spiced chocolate, or a mocha coffee. Spices of red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and black pepper add a serious kick, but we also get cardamom, pralines, and oak on the back end.
Finish: Medium length, still quite warm, and still spicy. Nutmeg, cinnamon red hot candies, and dry vanilla linger; in the aftertaste, more juicy red and purple fruits, even stewed fruits.
Final Note: Quite spicy and full of baking notes - the cask strength ABV shows through, as well as a little bit of youth adding a spiky texture. Still, it's a good whisky, with plenty of hefty flavors on display; we feel that this is similar quality to the last batch of Aberlour A'bunadh that we reviewed, which we scored 7.3 / 10. The fruity notes were more noticeable in this bottle, which we liked.
Value is average - this bottle has gotten more expensive in the last few years, along with a lot of the other Aberlour whiskies (and their Speyside neighbors). It's an okay price for a cask strength sherry bomb, but the competition is growing stronger all the time.
Our Average Rating: 7.2 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.49
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Aberlour reviews:
