Oh Taste & See: Aberlour A'Bunadh Single Malt Scotch

Just in time for Christmas, I bring you a tasting of one of the best Scotches I've ever had. A friend of mine brought a bottle of Aberlour A'Bunadh to a whisky tasting that I hosted a few weeks ago, and it turned out to be everyone's favorite. After having a few more glasses since then I can say it wasn't just a favorite because it came near the end of many whisky samples, it really is a distinctive, rich, and delicious Scotch perfectly suited to give as a gift, or to horde to yourself for enjoying by the fire on a cold winter's night. This Speyside single malt is aged exclusively in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and is bottled without chill filtering at cash strength.

*Note: The bottle I sampled was from Batch #10 and bottled at 59.8% alcohol. Since A'Bunadh is bottled at cask strength, uncut and unfiltered, there may be some variation from batch to batch.

Color: Aberlour A'Bunadh is very dark for a Scotch with a rich mahogany hue with hints of amber.

Nose: The nose on this whisky is wonderfully rich and sweet. It almost seems like a bourbon nose which is surprising since A'Bunadh is aged exclusively in ex-sherry barrels. I think the bourbon character is due to the higher proof and lack of filtering which allows the oak notes to come through at full strength. Along with oak aromas there are notes of vanilla, toasted marshmallows, and after adding some water, crisp fall leaves. A perfect fall camp-out Scotch?

Flavor: The flavor continues where aroma leaves off - it's full, hearty, and very smooth for almost 120 proof. There are sweet honey flavors, along with oak and dark chocolates. With a splash of water tastes of clay, warm earth, and roasted nuts are revealed.

Finish: The finish is super long and warm without being harsh at all. It has notes of a toasty wood fireplace, and more earthy, nutty notes as it opens up.

This is not the easiest whisky to find, but if you see it I encourage you to jump on it. At $50/bottle it's a great deal for a slam dunk of a single malt.

Oh Taste & See: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

I've been working on this bottle of The Balvenie DoubleWood for a while, but realized that I had never posted a tasting, and since it's a perfect drink as summer cools into fall I figure now is the time. The Balvenie is one of the larger small Scotch distilleries, or one of the smaller large Scotch distilleries. The distillery was built in 1892, by William Grant. The company he founded, William Grant & Sons, is now a major producer of Scotch and other spirits, but Balvenie remains one of their prize products. Balvenie single-malts tend to be excellent, well-balanced whiskies that are widely available, so what's not to like?

The 12 year old DoubleWood is The Balvenie's entry level whisky, and it's a great, crowd-pleasing Scotch since it doesn't lean too heavily on any particular style or flavor. It's aged in both ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry barrels, giving it a very well-rounded character.

Color: The Balvenie has a rich honey-caramel color that's quite dark for a 12 year old Scotch.

Nose: The nose is rich, sweet, and warm with hints of honey and toffee. There are fruity undertones of ripe  apples, dried cherries, and milk chocolate. As it sits, a brown sugar aroma develops that makes it very inviting.

Flavor: This Scotch is extremely smooth with sweet flavors of oak, vanilla, and honey up front. The mouth-feel is thick and rich with a bit of buttered toast flavor. After a while more brown sugar and nutty flavors start to come out.

Finish: The finish is long, warm, and sweet. There are hints of raisins and figs and more sweet vanilla. At the tail end there's a hint of tar which isn't a bad way for such a sweet and smooth Scotch to finish off.

Overall, The Balvenie Double Wood is a great "everyday" single malt that hits a lot of key flavors without being overly aggressive with any of them. It's also one of the few whiskies that I strongly prefer to drink totally neat without a splash of water or ice cube. It's not weak, but it doesn't need any mellowing out at all...spot on.

Oh Taste & See: Edgefield Distillery Hogshead Whiskey

I noticed recently that I had accumulated a few bottles of small-batch, craft-distilled malt whiskeys, so I thought I'd taste them all, three posts in a row, and offer you a comparison. First up is Hogshead Whiskey from Oregon's Edgefield Distillery. Edgefield Distillery is part of the McMenamins empire which operates hotels, pubs, breweries, wineries, and theaters throughout Oregon and Washington. Hogshead Whiskey is made in a small, dark, barn-like distillery at the Edgefield resort property that McMenamins operates in Troutdale, OR.

Hogshead Whiskey is a very small batch product distilled from the same barley malt used in some of McMenamins' beers, and aged 'to-taste' in used barrels. It is available at any of McMenamins' pubs or restaurants or at a couple of the hotel gift shops, but that's it...so don't get your hopes up about finding a bottle at your corner liquor shop. Here's what I think about it:

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