Today I am tasting something very special. An Aberlour 8 year old from 1964. This was a bottle I was really interested in, I like Aberlour as a distillery and really enjoy visiting the place when I am in Speyside. The chance of tasting an Aberlour from the 60’s is not something that will occur that often.
This Aberlour is 8 years old and bottled at 50% ABV.
Aberlour 8 year old tasting notes:
Nose: Old sherry, leather cases, old books, pencil shavings. Vanilla, slight hint of pepper. Raisins, I get only a little bit of oranges but nothing to much. I could only detect this after I added water to my 2nd glass.
With water: Now there comes the fruit, it is fresher and it really opens up but still doesn’t fully explode in fruit. There is a lot of orange zest. A well integrated smell.
Taste: Orange zest, raisins. An actually really suprising flavour compared to the nose. Nothing of the old leather that I got in the nose but a very fruity flavour. Very nice!
With water: A nice balance. More of the orange zest which is really speaking now. Raisins and it get’s a bit creamier. In the background a little menthol.
Finish: The finish is nice and is mid-long to long, dry as well. Mouth coating with fudge or caramel. A bit nutty, almonds and hazelnuts. Some of the oranges remain.
It’s a nice dram but not spectacular if you ask me. I have had many other whiskies that had more of a wow factor. But it’s good, very good I can’t deny that! Especially for an 8 year old whisky. The nose wins it from the taste, and the taste wins it from the finish.
