Up until now, Aberlour has never really let me down.
When I first discovered the 10yo and 12yo expressions in the mid-1990's I didn't immediately fell in love with the relatively mildly sherried character of Aberlour. I liked them, but at the time they didn't seem quite as sherried as their Macallan competitors. However, when Aberlour introduced their 'A'bunadh' range a few years later they were able to offer an excellent alternative to the cask strength Macallans. Sherried, cask strength and single cask - what more could a malthead with an inclination towards sherry want? With one notable exception, these Abunadh's are among my favourite Aberlours, so I've listed my tasting notes for the various expressions below.

The 'notable exception' I mentioned is the Aberlour Glenlivet 8yo (50%, OB, 75cl).
It comes in a square bottle with a small Cork and silver label, probably bottled in the 1950's.
Luc poured it for me during our '2004' trip to Italy and I was blown away by this blast from the past.
Nose: Not as obviously (fruity) sweet and sherried like 'modern' young Aberlours released +/- 2000.
Instead, I found Maggi, vegetable stock, and sellery. This is a beautifully 'composed' malt whisky.
Over time, a multitude of spices and organics emerge.  and you can 'smell the age'. Remarkable.
Taste: Sweet, fruity and very robust on the palate. An exceptional malt - the stuff of legends.
I eventually decided to increase my already impressive score of 93 to 94 points.
The best Aberlour I've ever tried is both the 'youngest' and the 'oldest'...

Now then - here are my notes for the various A'bunadh expressions I've tried so far.
I've sampled many other bottlings as well, but at the moment it's the best Aberlour has to offer.
You can find all my other tasting notes for Aberlour through the links on my Track Record.
And I'll start with notes on the 'predecessor' of the A'bunadh; the 100 Proof.

Aberlour NAS '100 Proof' (57.1%, OB, code L320077 06? 09:58, bottled +/- 2000?, 100cl)
Nose: Big, sweet and powerful. Woody elements as well. Sherried, woody and some cookies.
Strong fruits and molasses. There is complexity, but it's not as apparent as in the 15yo or Antique.
You really have to look for it, but when you find it it's a revelation. Peaty (???) after five minutes.
With a dash of water more farmy and organic notes emerged, but whiffs of paint thinner as well.
Taste: Very drinkable at Cask Strength - at least for the first 5 seconds. Then the big burn starts.
Liquorice (root) and wood are the primary impressions. Very sweet with strong fruity notes.
Not unlike Spanish sangria. It tastes a little bit like sweet dough after I added some water.
Score: 86 points - but note that some breathing will improve the nose considerably!

Aberlour NAS 'A'bunadh' No Batch # (59.6%, OB, code L320 150 116 15:40, 70cl)
(No batch number; bottled +/- 2000, I wonder what happened to batch #1-5?)
Nose: Ooh - very fruity with a wide spectrum of saturated shades of sherry.
Sweet and slightly dusty. Turkish delight. Smoke. Raisins. Flowers? Oriental spices?
Amazingly complex and well-balanced.  Try sniffing your 'empty' glass with this one!
With some water the aroma intensified, but the character didn't really change.
Taste: Very sherried & sweet start with hints of pink bubblegum. Deep fruits. Oak. Liquorice.
Wonderful balance. After adding some water, stone fruits (peaches and apricots) emerged.
Not as easily drinkable as the Aberlour 100 Proof, although the difference in proof is a mere 2.5%.
Score: 90 points - seriously good stuff. Sure, it has some flaws, but the fun factor is huge!
In the arena of the 'Cask Strength Sherry Heavy Hitters', it's the first serious competition for the Mac 10yo 100 Proof I ever tried. I rated the first few drams quite conservatively at 87/88 points, but this is one of those malts that keeps improving in the bottle when it's allowed to breathe a little.  This could be the 'Macallan-killer'.

Aberlour NAS 'A'bunadh' Batch #6 (59.6%, OB, code L320 448 354 12:01, 70cl)
Nose: Cinnamon! That's interesting - I didn't pick that one up in the previous batch.
At first this version seems less sherried than the previous one, but the nose develops.
Not as sweet or powerful in the nose either; at least in the start. But then it powers up.
Sweeter and more alcoholic. Rather fruity than sherried. Dried apples. Quite lovely.
A little malty, shifting towards nuttiness after a while. And maybe smoked almonds?
Distinctly 'gamy' - like wild boar in cranberry/wine-sauce. Wonderful development!
Taste: A deep sherry-sweet burn, changing to burnt toffee and caramel. Marzipan?
Smooth. Lots of wood and late fruits in the center. Just enough smoke. Fruitier with water.
Score: 88 points - it didn't really touch me like its predecessor, but it's still a very fine malt.

Aberlour NAS 'A'bunadh' Batch #7 (59.6%, OB, code L302 064 036 09:49, 70cl)
Nose: Ooh, sherry. Lots of it, actually. After a minute it grows slightly maltier and nuttier.
Smoke and fruits. Opens up even further with 10 drops of water - especially on 'organics'.
Oh, I love it! More and more organic notes. A hint of marzipan? This is simply amazing...
In the end it's more balanced than Batch #6, which seemd extremely fruity in a H2H.
Taste: Drinkable and very sweet at C/S, when taken in tiny sips. When I accidentally took a big gulp, diluting it in my mouth with water prevented the worst damage, but it still shut down most of the receptors on my tongue. It seemed sweet and smoky at +/- 45%, with a cool afterburn. Marzipan and sherry in the finish.
Score: 89 points - a truly great malt. Too bad the prices are sky-rocketing by now...

Aberlour NAS A'bunadh Batch #8 (60.2%, OB, code 4653 / 8941 / L302 323 182 11:34)
Nose: Sweet start - the sherry takes a while to come forward. Next stop: organics.
The sweetness dissipates, leaving a bouquet dominated by sherry notes. Lemon drops?
Soap? Shortbread? Water has little effect, it only brings some sourness to the front.
Taste: Very sherried start, but surprisingly drinkable at C/S. Sweet, fruity centre.
The sweetness slowly evolves into a long fruity and woody finish. Slightly 'winey'.
Score: 86 points - based on dram #1 from the bottle I'd say it's the 'worst' batch so far.
Still highly recommendable if you're into sherry monsters as well, mind you.

Aberlour A'bunadh Batch #9 (60.0%, OB, code 4653 / 2AJF901 / LK3N0934 058 12:46)
Nose: A little nuttier and more balanced than Batch #8 at first. Not as extremely sherried.
Toffee! Furniture polish. Fruitier notes appear after a minute. Nice - very well-balanced.
Taste: Sherried for a second, then sweet and fruity like lemon drops. Long woody finish.
Not very deep or complex at C/S. After a dash of water the fruit became more prominent.
Score: 87 points - this batch seems slightly more balanced than the previous one.
I've now sampled five different batches of the A'bunadh and all scored between 86 and 90 points.
This bottle set me back just 35 pounds, so it scores high on the 'value' scale as well.

Aberlour A'bunadh Batch #11 (59.8%, OB, sampled at Whisky Live 2004 in London)
Nose: Not quite as extremely sherried as some of its earlier predecessors, it seems.
This allows some other elements (mainly subtle organics) to blend into the picture as well.
Taste: It appeared very hot in my mouth before the sherry, fruits and wood came forward.
It's a tad 'sharper' than earlier bottlings, but I'm still going with a score in the upper 80's.
Score: 89 points - one of the best batches I've encountered so far. Great stuff!
 

Check out my Track Record for a complete and up-to-date overview of all 'siplings' I've tried.
 
 
 

Nobody can accuse Pernod Ricard of consistency
in their advertising either. Since the early 1990's
they used several different themes to strengthen
the brand identity. 'The Mystery That Is Aberlour'
evolved into 'Earth. Air. Fire Water.' while the new
slogan for the third millennium is 'Let The Deed Show'.
Ah well, lets chalk it up to French fickleness ;-)

Unfortunately, modesty seems to be a dirty word for
Pernod-Ricard. Take this quote from the box of the
Aberlour Antique, for instance: 'From the Aberlour
Distillery comes the finest of all Speyside malts,
Aberlour Antique'. The finest of all Speyside malts?
Hardly - in fact, most other Aberlours did better.

The heavily sherried character of many official bottlings of
Aberlour is the result of an unusually high proportion of sherry
matured malts in the vattings. The 'traditional' Aberlour recipe is
said to contain 25-50% sherry casked whisky, which is much more than usual. Of course, it remains to be seen if Aberlour will be able to keep producing malts according to this recipe. Macallan had to introduce the 'Fine Oak' range in 2004 because they were running out of sherry casks. At some point, Aberlour has to respond to the dire sherry situation in Spain as well - all the more reason to stock up now, while you still can!

Fortunately (and unlike some other marketing-driven
malts I could mention), Aberlour usually delivers the goods.
After playing second fiddle to Macallan as the premier sherry
swig for a long time they may take the pole position in the
forseeable future - provided they manage to maintain their
constant quality and relatively friendly prices.

When some of the malt maniacs visited Speyside
in May 2003 we also visted the Aberlour distillery.
Filling your very own bottle of Aberlour at the end
of the distillery tour (directly from either a sherry
or a bourbon cask) is a memorable experience.

Folklore has been emphasised in the marketing of
Aberlour's malts ever since Campbell Distillers (now
owned by Pernod Ricard) bought and expanded the
distillery in 1945. I tried my first Aberlour 50 years
later and was suitably impressed; great stuff!

The picture shows, from left to right, our resident
Australian malt maniac Craig Daniels , Canadian malt
maniac Davin de kergommeaux (both sporting those
fashionable Malt Madness T-shirts) and Indian malt
maniac Krishna Nukala - who is obviously having the
time of his life filling up his own bottle of Aberlour.

Thanks to the constant high quality of the official
bottlings Aberlour has earned itself a spot in my list
of Top 10 Favourite Distilleries. After a decade of
dramming I had sampled two dozen expressions and
only two of those scored below average; a very old
(and possibly oxidized) 5cl sample of a 9yo OB and
an independent 14yo bottling from Helen Arthur.

Trivia about Aberlour: In the early noughties Aberlour overtook Glenfiddich as the best selling single malt in France. Could the chauvinistic nature of our French friends have anything to do with that? Possibly, I imagine...