Aberlour Casg Annamh (Batch 3)

Bloody good. Lovely rounded depth and richness, I guess for the Sherry casks. Nice spice hints. No harshness. Getting almost banana on the palette.

Relatively new NAS line from Aberlour. This third batch was the first time I actually saw this. 48% ABV. Non-chill filtered. Olorsso sherry. I guess this is supposed to be A'bunadh's younger brother? Let's check it out. Nose: Apple, apricot, pear. Raisin, cranberry, raspberry. Vanilla, caramel, toffee. Cola. Red grape. Honeydew. Peaches and cream. Banana and walnut. Nougat. Oak and light baking spice. Barely a hint of ABV; the complex layers of the nose bury the ethanol. Very nice. Palate: Apple, cranberry, raspberry, golden raisin, and red grape. Caramel and vanilla. Milk chocolate and fudge. Orange. Tobacco smoke. Pear and apricot. Oak, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Full-bodied, layered, and tasty palate. Awesome. Finish: Plum, cranberry, raisin. Apricot and orange. Caramel, cocoa, and cola. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Medium-long. Great way to end it. This was sort of a random purchase--meaning I got it on a whim. I didn't really have much an expectation coming in. So I find it a pleasant surprise that this absolutely delivers; both in terms of quality and value. $70 for a NCF, high-proof, quality Olrosso cask single malt is well worth it in my book. A note for Aberlour: stick with the higher-proof offerings. This and A'bunadh demonstrate that the distillate performs better uncut; they're both significantly better than the 12 and 16. The 18 is great on its own merit, but even that sits at a higher proof than the 12 and 16. At any rate, great malt. This is a welcome addition to Aberlour's core line. I'm looking forward to trying future batches down the road. 4.5/5.