Aberlour 1999 17 YO - The Distillery Reserve Collection

Aberlour 1999 17 YO - The Distillery Reserve Collection, 52.8 %

The Distillery Reserve Collection is a series of small batch or single cask releases available in the distillery shops at the Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) owned distilleries.

This Aberlour 1999 17 YO - The Distillery Reserve Collection was distilled 1999-07-02, matured in two casks (#4868 and #4886), then bottled 2017-05-25. A total of 594 bottles were released.

Nose: Warning! This is a sherry bomb. The colour confirms it. The nose confirms it. I’m pretty certain the palate will confirm it as well. Somewhat tannic in character. Dried fruits with a little edge to it. Raisins and balsamic vinegar. With time red berries, polish and ever richer sherry notes.

Taste: Boom, there it is! Yep, it’s a sherry bomb. It’s the edge type though. As mentioned for the nose it has a certain bitter-ish note to it. Not quite balsamic vinegar on the palate though - more like bitter oranges partly camouflaged by assorted spices and dried fruits.

Finish: Medium to long finish. Dry and dark chocolate with rich sherry marmalade filling. Cinnamon and marzipan. Lovely landing.

Comment: Big, bold, boisterous and rather brilliant.

Score 90/100

Big thank you to Kristen for the ample sample!

Sláinte!
-Thomas