In Monday's review I said the Aberlours 10 & 12 were among the first single malts I did not take to ~14 years ago. But Aberlour 10 & 12 never grossed me out the way Lismore did. The 12 year old Aberlour was just strongly *meh*, and that's what I anticipated during this past Saturday's Taste Off between three Aberlours.
Distillery: Aberlour
Ownership: Pernod Ricard
Region: Speyside (Banffshire)
Ownership: Pernod Ricard
Region: Speyside (Banffshire)
Age: at least 12 years
Maturation: "traditional oak and seasoned sherry butts" per the marketing material
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Bottling year: ~2019-2020
Chillfiltered? Yes
Color added? Yes
(from a purchased sample)
Bottling year: ~2019-2020
Chillfiltered? Yes
Color added? Yes
(from a purchased sample)
NOTES
The nose is very similar to the 10yo's, with the pears and VOCs and bland(er) nut notes. But with time it picks up anise, pumpernickel, a little bit of clove and seaweed.
The simple palate leads with nuts and malt, with hints of cotton and lemon. It gets much sweeter as it gains anise liqueur and raisins. Like the 10, this one also has a very thin mouthfeel.
Another quick finish here. It's nutty and sweet, with a peep of anise.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
It's harmless, kinda like a better version of contemporary Chivas Regal. But not much better. The interesting nose and the palate's anise push it ahead of the 10 year old. But still, I can only assume the French are using up a lot of ice cubes to consume the 100,000s of litres of Aberlour that disappear into their country annually.
Availability - Europe and North America
Pricing - mid $40s in Europe, upper $50s in the US
Rating - 78 (oh gross, this matches my score from 6 years ago)