ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first, vanilla and red berries rub shoulders in the center. It’s a very fresh fruitiness with raspberries, cherries and a laid back lemon sourness. In their surroundings there are notes of anise, liquorice and honey. In the background there’s just a touch of baking spices. This is easy to nose and the different cask types are easily detected.

Mouth: It starts out extremely soft and mild. After a few second the vanilla and honey come through. The fruitiness is not as pronounced as on the nose and it’s a slightly darker ripe fruitiness. There’s not much left of the anise and liquorice, but they are detectable around the edges. The oak shines through after a few seconds, and it comes off a bit perfumey.

Finish: The fruitiness changes once again and the first thing to appear is a nice note of gooseberries. The vanilla and honey are still in there, but they just act as fillers. The oakiness is still perfumey, and it feels like fresh oak. In the late finish the sour lemon note reappears. It’s not a long finish. Overall this is a low impact, sweet desserty kind of whisky. It feels like it’s missing a red thread and it’s not complex at all. It’s still quite tasty and this ought to be a good beginner’s dram.

Additional information
Aberlour is owned by Chivas Regal. This 12 YO is double cask matured, which means that it’s matured in ”traditional” ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks. The traditional part often means ”refill”.