The hand-filled bottles of Aberlour are very popular. They are not too expensive (£ 70,-), especially not if you compare these prices to other hand-filled or distillery only bottles. Besides that, they also seem to be very good. There are two versions: one matured in a sherry cask and the other one in a bourbon cask. So I bought them both and this Aberlour 16 yo (sherry cask) is the first to review.
This Aberlour has matured in a sherry cask and is bottled at 56,2% ABV. Cask #A16.
Aberlour 16 yo tasting notes:
Nose: An abundance of red fruit, such as strawberries and raspberries. Then dried fruits take over; raisins, and a lovely scent from sweet dried dates. Some honey sweetness can be find here too. Ending with blue berries.
Taste: Creamy and a thick mouthfeel. It starts less fruity than the nose suggests. Yes the dates are here again, but this is followed by caramel, toffee and dark chocolate. Some spices too. When I add water all the fruits that can be find in the nose are back here as well.
Finish: The finish is quite long, nice! With dark chocolate and espresso.
Yes a sherry bomb! That’s for sure and it’s quite good indeed. It improved a lot since the first time I opened this bottle. A few drops of water worked well for the palate. It changed from somewhat bitter to fruity again. Yep, a nice dram!
