Our penultimate festive dram comes on a very wintery day (well it is here in the Midlands)
The weather is shockingly cold, rainy and miserable. Come on! couldn't we have just a little snow to at least make us feel Christmas'y....
Until then, here's a cracking suggestion from our good friend and dram'meister, Mr Ben Ellefsen from Master Of Malt:
Well hellllooooo....
"Leaving aside our own range of course , (gentle plug!) I'd have to say that that bottle I'm going to reach for on Christmas day will be a Glenfarclas 105, or an Aberlour a'Bunadh (doesn't matter which batch). After an entire year of tasting, sampling, and picking apart various malts for tasting notes and cask selection, I'm after something at cask strength, with a big, sherry-rich, mucky flavour to savour without having to think too much about it. Both of these bottlings provide exceptional value for money, too - so I can feel completely comfortable opening a bottle with the intention of finishing it with friends and family"
Wise words sir!
Aberlour a'Bunadh - Batch no. 15 - 59.6%
Nose: Big dry sherry cask notes, alcohol steeped raisins, dates, menthol, some earthy, compost/dried leaves and then dark cigar wrappers. Just nosing this is certainly cleaning the pipes.
Palate: Surprisingly smooth initially, then the fire starts to burn. There's no escape from this whisky in the flavour department; the dry cask notes are still present, but now rich christmas cake, more dates, some sweet cereal notes are developing, alongside some decidedly lighter and more delicate fruity/barley sugar flavours.
Finish: Resinous, powerful and spicy, with a little licorice developing as the palate dries.
Tomorrow's post will be our last festive dram suggestions before the big day and both Joel and I will take the honours... Jingle Bells!!