Tony's Whisky Corner: Aberlour A'Bunadh Alba

courtesy Aberlour

What happens to a sherried single malt when you take away the sherry?

To find out, look no further than Aberlour's latest, a variation of A'bunadh, one of the great sherry cask-matured whiskies.

Aberlour’s Speyside distillery, located by a stream near the Ben Rinnes mountains from which its water is sourced, has been making whisky since 1880. But it’s only in recent years that the brand has begun to make a name for itself in the States. Aberlour is known for its rich, viscous, sherried malts, which are aged in both sherry butts and ex-bourbon American oak casks and then married before bottling.

Aberlour A’Bunadh (Gaelic for “the original”)  is the brand’s cask-strength, non-chill filtered expression, aged exclusively in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts — no bourbon casks here — and the only expression to not sport an age statement (it won a gold medal in the 2019 NY International Spirits Competition, among its many accolades). Launched in 1997, it’s said to be based on a bottle of turn-of-the-20th century Aberlour that was found in a time capsule. A’Bunadh is dominated by sherry, from its dark, opaque color to its rich notes of raisins and orange peel.  In fact, it’s hard to imagine A’Bunadh without a prominent sherry influence, which is what makes A’Bunadh Alba such an interesting experiment — and more importantly, a tasty whisky.

A'Bunadh Alba ($90) is the same no-age-statement, non-chill filtered, cask strength whisky as its elder sibling. There’s only one difference, but it’s a big one: Instead of aging in sherry casks, it's matured entirely in ex-bourbon barrels ("Alba" refers to quercus alba, also known as American white oak, in which bourbon is aged, as well as to Scotland itself). Aberlour’s master distiller, Graeme Cruikshank, says that “there are stark differences in color and body, which should intrigue A’bunadh devotees and welcome new drinkers to the concept,” but also notes that it’s “still offering those familiar sweet, fruity notes which are rooted in the new [make]’s DNA.”

Where A'Bunadh has deep “sherry bomb” notes of nuts and dark fruits, Alba has a prominent green apple flavor, along with the honey and vanilla that are also present in the sherried A’bunadh. A pepper/cinnamon spice on the back of the tongue evolves into a lingering, malty finish. Despite an ABV of about 60% (it varies slightly from batch to batch), it drinks smoothly without water or ice, and with a minimum of alcoholic heat. If you can swing it, it's a blast to sample A'Bunadh and A'Bunadh Alba side by side, and taste just how much of a difference cask aging can make.