Aberlour 18 Year Double Cask Matured

Nose: orange, mandarin, sherry, and in a minor tone vanilla and toffee. Palate: sherry, raisins, orange peel, toffee. Final: sherry, plums and toffee. A super whisky, which enchants for its perfection and its character: the 43% alcohol content is in my opinion perfect. I can't find a discordant note. Excellent. Rating 4.75 ________________________________________________________ Naso: arancio, mandarino, sherry, ed in tono minore vaniglia e mou. Palato: sherry, uvetta, scorze di arance, mou. Finale: sherry, prugne e mou. Un super whisky, che incanta per la sua perfezione e per il suo carattere: la gradazione di 43% è secondo me perfetta. Non riesco a trovare una nota stonata. Eccellente. Voto 4,75

A costly but reliable daily malt. There are less expensive ways to toast to the end of another day of hard work. That said, this is a wonderful, toasty, vanilla-honey, sweet, full-bodied bourbon/sherry cask flavor. Going for quality over quantity lately, that is why I have been willing to spend more on the dailies. This a consistent, fine whisky and a true step up from the 12. It is well-deserving of an average 90 score from various ratings, be them official spirit challenges or YouTube reviewers. The burst is velvety rich, lingers like liquid gloss, as a friend who known exactly how long to stay so that the feeling is perfect and creates anticipation for next time while solidifying the present time was well worth it. It is quite memorable and a must have in my reservoir. Cuter my, it is priced fair. Remember, do not make this an occasion malt. It is so much more sophisticated and yet companionable than that. Look to this for an every day malt and you will be a well-balanced, cultivated whisky connoisseur.

The Aberlour 12 was okay. The 16 was very good, but calling it great would be a overstepping. Here's to hoping an extra two years in the barrel can put the Aberlour juice over the top. Nose: Lots of perfume. Plum, fig, date, and raisin. Jelly. Cranberry and raspberry. Cola. Dark red notes. Red apple and apricot. Orange zest. Caramel and butterscotch. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. It's mostly tart but there are some tingly spice notes at the end. Powerful oak, as one would expect of an 18-year. Olorosso-dominant. Nice. Palate: Honeydew right off the bat. Orange zest. Golden raisin, cranberry, and raspberry. Apple, pear, and apricot. Brown sugar, caramel, and butterscotch. Vanilla and milk chocolate. Carrot cake sweetness. And plenty of oak. A nice balance between Olorosso and Bourbon cask. Finish: Almond and chestnut. Pumpkin spice. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice. Oak bitterness. Medium-length. And there it is. I finally found the winning Aberlour recipe. 18 it is. This one has the richness, depth, and proper cask influence to encapsulate the potential of Aberlour's distillate. A job well done. Now for VFM. This one hits it. I won't bother to run through the list of 18-year old Scottish single malts, because, quite frankly, there are many of them. I will say, however, that this one of the cheaper options remaining in this category. And it stacks up to the best of them. 4.5/5--And to answer my initial question, the 18-year is the Aberlour sweet spot.