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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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June 23, 2017 |
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A’bunadh against Sauternes |
I just cannot and couldn’t taste all batches of A’bunadh, but I like to try a few of them, say every three or four batches. Today it’s going to be batch #57, knowing that A’bunadh is the perfect excuse for all NAS-goers. You know, NAS can’t be bad since A’bunadh (used to be Uigeadail) is good. Right… |
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Aberlour 'A'bunadh' batch #57 (60.7%, OB, 2016)  From oloroso butts, naturally. Colour: amber. Nose: dry. Pencil shavings and walnuts, chocolate, cinnamon, toffee. I don’t think I’ve ever found this many pencil shavings in A’bunadh. With water: more oak! Bitter chocolate, sawdust, vanilla, Crayola, black tea… Mouth (neat): rich, strong, very orange-y, and very bizarrely, very, very bourbony. Say Pappy-ish. Some black cherries, marmalade, cinnamon cake, black chocolate, figs, Armagnac, all that. With water: heavy oak extraction indeed, but quite magically, that worked greatly. Feels very technological, but that’s technology we enjoy (I know I sound like an old Sony ad). Finish: long, on some spicy cake, chocolate, nutmeg (nutmeg is everywhere), and all kinds of raisins. Modern Armagnac, cloves, and ginger in the aftertaste. Comments: this is totally cask-driven, and yet, this is pretty perfect. You just have to like oak. Hurray for A’bunadh! SGP:461 - 88 points. |
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Aberlour-Glenlivet 19 yo 1995/2014 (52.6%, Cadenhead, Wine Cask, Sauternes finish, 264 bottles)  What what what, Sauternes? Colour: golden. Nose: wait. Bicycle inner tube, new Renault, engine oil, carbon paper, hard-boiled eggs, rhubarb peel… How strange is this? You would expect some apricoty extravaganza, and what you get is some hyper-rubbery grassiness. Shall I use the S-word? With water: brake pads after a well-fought race. Mouth (neat): starts relatively well, and gets then sour and eau-de-vie-ish. Loses you. Cranberry sweets, lavender ice cream, Szechuan pepper, tomatoes… With water: no. More tomatoes, muddy stuff... Finish: quite long, sour and bitter, twisted, rubbery… Comments: why? This might be Cadenhead’s secret garden, bottling great classics must be boring at times, so they sometimes fire total oddities, just for fun. Archie Shepp playing The Rubettes or something like that. SGP:362 - 65 points (oh it's just a funny one woth trying, don't always bother with scores). |
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