Do you remember the good old days when we had Abunadh ? Well that beast of a dram was kind of replaced by this Casg Annamah or “Rare cask” to you and I…

Although the beloved Abunadh is still going it has reached the dizzying heights of batch 68 or somewhere around there and has unfortunately being priced out of reach to so many of its once loyal followers.

Thats where this little brother was born, with a different make up and lower Abv, the Casg Annamah (try saying that when you are sober) was we were told not released to be a replacement but rather to sit below the Abunadh, well it certainly sat below its big brother in so many ways.

This batch 5 has been made up using whisky matured in Spanish oak Oloroso Sherry casks/butts although some places do mention American oak has also being used to mature this whisky.

I have previously looked at batch one which can be found HERE so it will be interesting if the make up has changed or if this is a rather generic batch release made to be constant ( i hope it comes across with obvious differences )

Batch 5 – Casg Annamh – Aberlour

Distillery.. Aberlour

Region.. Speyside

Age.. Nas

Abv.. 48%

Cask.. European Oak – Oloroso Casks

Nose.. Dates, raisins and plum gently lead into black treacle, demerara sugar and freshly dipped toffee apples. Cinnamon and gentle oak with a hint of tobacco leaf slowly rise with a soft hint of dark chocolate and old leather.

Palate.. Plenty of prickle at first but this soon subsides and allows the sweetness of honey, toffee and fudge to come through. Oak tannins are evident along with some bitter chocolate and orange rind. A gentle hint of cask charr meanders through the spices and soft sweeter notes which brings hints of tobacco and caramelised orange.

Finish.. Spices and bitter chocolate.

Thoughts.. Aberlour describe this as “Casg Annamh is a distinctively rich Single Malt providing adventurous malt lovers with the ideal introduction to Sherry cask matured whiskies”.

I have to agree with that as this is an introduction to sherry matured whisky, it is not a massive sherry bomb nor is it a weak imitation. What it is though is a whisky that fails to impress those who remember and loved the old Abunadh that also sat right at this price point and had people shouting from the highest mountains at its quality.

Those who never really knew about that little gem that was released at cask strength and packed a real punch and could easily be bought at £25-£40 in the early days before hitting the £50 – £60 mark then launching itself into orbit and commanding a price tag of £80 just as this was released should consider themselves rather lucky.

They are the ones this is aimed at, those that want a reasonably good whisky matured in sherry and dont know how good the times and Aberlour used to be..

A decent enough whisky at a reasonable price that wont offend the old brigade of whisky drinker..