Aberlour A’Bunadh (batch #59)

Type: Single malt Scotch whisky

Origin: Speyside, Scotland 

ABV: 60.9%

Age: NAS

Price: AU$130-140

Aberlour A’Bunadh pays tribute to James Fleming, the founder of the Aberlour distillery. Fittingly, the whisky’s name – A’Bunadh – means “the original” or “of the origin” in Gaelic. While the whisky’s character varies subtly from batch to batch, each and every A’Bunadh I’ve tried are among the best examples of Oloroso sherry matured whisky. The most recent batch is batch 59.

Batch 59 of A’Bunadh is cask strength whisky that has been exclusively matured in Oloroso sherry butts from Spain.

Pouring the single malt into my glass, suddenly the room smells of raisins and fruit cake. Bringing the glass to my nose, spices from the sherry wood become more noticeable – there is star anise, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and vanilla, all interlaced with Christmas cake, ground coffee and dark chocolate. In the mouth, the Oloroso is drying with rich dense fruit cake, raisin, cocoa. mixed candied citrus peel and an array of spices. The spices taste woody at first, and then become peppery as they eventually morph into freshly ground fiery cinnamon. The spices lead into a mouth puckering grapefruit finish with cherry compote, raisin, dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts.

Decadent and full-bodied with intense cask strength sherried character, Aberlour A’Bunadh batch 59 really does tick all the boxes for those looking for a heavyweight of a sherry bomb that pulls no punches.