Sherry monsters - which to go for?

[winelover]

I am looking at Glenfarclas 105 and Aberlour A'bunadh (batch 44). The guiding principles here are price, cask strength, natural presentation and of course a stonkingly good dram.

I understand that both are free drom artificial colourant but the Aberlour is the only one that is non-chill filtered. Any advice, experience or even othwr suggestions would be most welcome.

[Livo]

Haven't tried the 105, but the a'bunadh is great. Definitely a sherry monster!

Have tried other glenfarclas bottlings and, while I like the a lot, based on them I would probably pick the a'bunadh. (Think it's a little bit cheaper too, right?)

[Ken Gargett]

without commenting on the two whiskies, though quite enjoy the glenfarclas, my understanding is that the use of "sherry" casks or cuban rum casks or whatever really imparts far less character to the whisky than many think. to start, they'll be old casks, sometimes 50 years or more, so any influence they could have offered has largely long gone. for the 'sherry' character , or whatever, there might be minimal hints but hardly enough to go close to overwhelming the other flavours of the whisky. more a case that there is previous evidence that these were good casks.

but good for marketing.

[edlye]

I've had both and prefer the 105 by a wide margin. I was a fan of the A'bunadh and still am but no longer keep any bottles on hand after discovering the 105. Unfortunately, the 105 is pretty rare in the neck of my woods.

[Livo]

without commenting on the two whiskies, though quite enjoy the glenfarclas, my understanding is that the use of "sherry" casks or cuban rum casks or whatever really imparts far less character to the whisky than many think. to start, they'll be old casks, sometimes 50 years or more, so any influence they could have offered has largely long gone. for the 'sherry' character , or whatever, there might be minimal hints but hardly enough to go close to overwhelming the other flavours of the whisky. more a case that there is previous evidence that these were good casks.

but good for marketing.

I agree with you on the rum casks and such which are typically "finishing" casks and you never really know how long the whisky actually spends in them.

Have to disagree in the case of sherry or bourbon casks though. These being the two main casks that whiskies are aged in and in most cases the whiskies having spent their entire maturation period in one or the other, in my experience it is quiet easy to tell the difference between a whisky aged entirely in sherry casks (e.g., glendronach, macallan) and a whisky aged entirely in bourbon casks (e.g., glenmorangie, old pultney 12) even in a blind tasting.

In my experience scotch falls into three main categories, bourbon aged (lighter, before dinner style), sherry aged (heavier, good for after dinner), and peaty (for whenever you're in the mood). If course then you've got scothes such as glenfarclas which, aside from the 105, age their whisky in bourbon casks, sherry casks, and sometimes ever so slightly peat smoke it.

All just opinion based on my experience of course. Sounds like I'm probably drinking too much scotch...

[winelover]

Thanks for all of the comments. I am also an Islay fan and like my Laphroaig and Ardbeg. I don't have a heavily sherried whisky at the moment so I am likely to pick up the 105. Part of me is also toying with the idea of picking up sometging rare and very special - a bottle of 20yr old 1991 single cask px butt.

I am also thinking od picking up an exclusively bourbon influenced whisky and I am thinking of the Glenlivet Nadurra 16yo which is cask strength and matured in exclusively first fill bourbon casks. Also like the craft "unfinished" finish.

Ken I think there are many single malts tha are matured entirely in sherry casks rather than finished, and not all of them are tired old casks.

[Ken Gargett]

Thanks for all of the comments. I am also an Islay fan and like my Laphroaig and Ardbeg. I don't have a heavily sherried whisky at the moment so I am likely to pick up the 105. Part of me is also toying with the idea of picking up sometging rare and very special - a bottle of 20yr old 1991 single cask px butt.

I am also thinking od picking up an exclusively bourbon influenced whisky and I am thinking of the Glenlivet Nadurra 16yo which is cask strength and matured in exclusively first fill bourbon casks. Also like the craft "unfinished" finish.

Ken I think there are many single malts tha are matured entirely in sherry casks rather than finished, and not all of them are tired old casks.

certainly didn't mean or say tired.

[winelover]

certainly didn't mean or say tired.

Sorry a case of unintended misrepresentation. Apologies.

[edlye]

Thanks for all of the comments. I am also an Islay fan and like my Laphroaig and Ardbeg. I don't have a heavily sherried whisky at the moment so I am likely to pick up the 105.

I like to mix one part Ardbeg 10 with four parts 105, put a lid on the glass and come back an hour later for a nice peaty sherried whisky.

[khomeinist]

I would take Glendronach 15 or Glenfarclas 17+ over either. If pressed, I would take the Aberlour. This is a good entry whisky for Islay and bourbon fans. I much prefer other expressions of Glenfarclas to the 105.

[CanuckSARTech]

Shlomo, I've noticed the same with the Nadurra cask strength. I'm not much of a scotch/whiskey man (obviously, more into my rums). But, my neighbour and my father-in-law both love it, so I always keep some on hand for them. I've noticed the same as you with the cask strength, but from what I can taste, the original/regular Nadurra 16 year (the one from the duty free retailers) is just perfect and the same as always.

[ChanceSchmerr]

without commenting on the two whiskies, though quite enjoy the glenfarclas, my understanding is that the use of "sherry" casks or cuban rum casks or whatever really imparts far less character to the whisky than many think. to start, they'll be old casks, sometimes 50 years or more, so any influence they could have offered has largely long gone. for the 'sherry' character , or whatever, there might be minimal hints but hardly enough to go close to overwhelming the other flavours of the whisky. more a case that there is previous evidence that these were good casks.

but good for marketing.

More to this point - Sometimes you're right, Ken - Whiskies aged or finished in second-third-higher fil Sherry Casks will get far less of the sherry influence. The Type of sherry used will also affect the spirit (Oloroso, PX, etc). If you really want the sherry influence in your whisky - look for those aged in First-Fill or Fresh Sherry Casks. Then you know (for better or worse) that you've got a proper sherried whisky.

As for those you mention - I love the Abunadh but it can be variable (I have batch 28? 29?). The 105 is uniformly stellar, go with that. I normally tend to stay away from Sherried non-cask strength whiskies - too many soupy-tasting Mortlach mistakes for my liking. Give me a proper Caol Ila or Ardbeg, and I'm happy

[Livo]

More to this point - Sometimes you're right, Ken - Whiskies aged or finished in second-third-higher fil Sherry Casks will get far less of the sherry influence. The Type of sherry used will also affect the spirit (Oloroso, PX, etc). If you really want the sherry influence in your whisky - look for those aged in First-Fill or Fresh Sherry Casks. Then you know (for better or worse) that you've got a proper sherried whisky.

As for those you mention - I love the Abunadh but it can be variable (I have batch 28? 29?). The 105 is uniformly stellar, go with that. I normally tend to stay away from Sherried non-cask strength whiskies - too many soupy-tasting Mortlach mistakes for my liking. Give me a proper Caol Ila or Ardbeg, and I'm happy

Agree 100% on first fill vs. refill casks.

I recently had a bottle of a'bunadh batch 39 and while It was quite enjoyable it was a bit one dimensional.

Also recently picked up a bottle of 15yo Mortlach from G&M and it is awful, a sulfury mess.

[winelover]

Quick update. After much mulling, I have pulled the trigger on:

Aberlour A'Bunadh batch 44

Springbank 12yo cask strength 2013 batch 5 (okay off topic as by no means a sherry monster)

So I took the risk of the Aberlour over the 105. I have the 105 (maybe a half bottle?) and the Glendronach on my wish list. I will pick up some Islays later this year too. I have never tried either but I have always had a do your research and take the plunge mindset, be it cigars, spirits or whatever.

Many thanks for the guidance.

G

[Livo]

Quick update. After much mulling, I have pulled the trigger on:

Aberlour A'Bunadh batch 44

Springbank 12yo cask strength 2013 batch 5

So I took the risk of the Aberlour over the 105. I have the 105 (maybe a half bottle?) and the Glendronach on my wish list. I will pick up some Islays later this year too. I have never tried either but I have always had a do your research and take the plunge mindset, be it cigars, spirits or whatever.

Many thanks for the guidance.

G

Sound like good choices to me. Glendronach 15 is currently my favorite sherried whisky, btw.

[winelover]

Cheers, I can't wait to get them

[ChanceSchmerr]

Springbank 12yo cask strength 2013 batch 5 (okay off topic as by no means a sherry monster)

Graham, Springbank is in my top 3 Whiskies of all time and will remain there barring catastophe - I have never had a Springbank I didn't love completely! The 12 yr Cask Strength is always an excellent bottling, regardless of batch - enjoy it!!!

[Lotusguy]

I was not impressed with recent Nadurra either

[winelover]

Graham, Springbank is in my top 3 Whiskies of all time and will remain there barring catastophe - I have never had a Springbank I didn't love completely! The 12 yr Cask Strength is always an excellent bottling, regardless of batch - enjoy it!!!

Thanks and good to know. Whilst I don't have much experience with Springbank I admire their commitment to traditional craft production. I saw a good series on the distillery on Ralphy's youtube channel. I hope to post a full whisky review here at some point.

G

[edlye]

Quick update. After much mulling, I have pulled the trigger on:

Aberlour A'Bunadh batch 44

Good luck with the A'bunadh. I ended up batch chasing with it, the batch to batch inconsistency is quite staggering in my view. That's one of the reasons why I decided to stock up on the 105 instead.

[edlye]

Agreed, and it is so strange how obvious a burnt or distasteful butt is in the Abunadh. Haven't found the same with others, at least not to the same degree.

I've been told, speculation or otherwise, that it is mainly due to sulphur taint; Jim Murray has raised a stink over this issue. The sherry butts or hogsheads are treated with sulphur candles to remove bacterial traces and disinfected before the new make spirits are put in.

Due to the small batch nature of the A'bunadh, the blenders are limited in what they can use to blend out the inconsistencies. Whatever the case, some can taste it and are bothered by it, some others can't or are not. I could taste the differences between batches and was bothered by the inconsistency, hence engaged in a bit of batch chasing for the A'bunadh. The A'bunadh saw the end of its rotation in my bottle lineup when I had to encourage oxidization to reduce the sulphur notes in a particularly bad bottle from batch 41. When I related this issue to a more experienced hobbyist, he pointed me in the direction of the 105.

[winelover]

I chickened out of the A'bunadh and changed my order to get the 105 instead. I think next sherry monster on my wish list will be the less abv Glendronach 15yo Revival

Thanks for the help.

G

[edlye]

I chickened out of the A'bunadh and changed my order to get the 105 instead. I think next sherry monster on my wish list will be the less abv Glendronach 15yo Revival

Thanks for the help.

G

Didn't mean to scare you away from the A'bunadh but when they get a batch right, the bottles really sing hence the tendency to want to chase after certain batches. In my own observation, there seem to be well-resourced parties where I'm located that are really diligent in tasting each batch and stocking up (or more accurately buying out the stock) on those good ones. I'd imagine that you'd have a better stock situation given that you're located near the source.

[khomeinist]

Try some of the older Glenfarclas bottlings if you get a chance. I personally don't rate the 105 very high compared with the rest of the Glenfarclas catalog, but as with most things in life, you have to pay to play.....

[khomeinist]

I like to mix one part Ardbeg 10 with four parts 105, put a lid on the glass and come back an hour later for a nice peaty sherried whisky.

Interesting recipe. Will try that. I have a bottle of 105 that I need to finish.