OB A'Bunadh batch #34 59.5% - Aberlour

[badgerbrown]

Nose: Black cherries and whipped cream (gateaux-like), dried orange peel, moist marzipan. Deep and dark sherry fruits. No sulphur at all, the depth and clarity are incredible. A sprinkle of chocolate and chopped nuts, even some Granny Smith diced apple. Very, very good.
With water: More dark fruits and bramble, sweet mascerated cherries, almond extract, leather armchairs, polish, lemon zest. Archetypal but timeless. Nutmeg, mace and clove hover and drift in and out. Awesome!

Taste: Intense alcohol and sherry, but faultlessly fruity and clean. Hot and peppery, which fades to white pepper and rich grapey luxury.
With water: Intensely sherried with fruit and clove-like spice interacting and bouncing off the oak. Dries to the middle with soft brown sugar in the background for perfect balance.

Finish: Still hotly alcoholic (pounding the tastebuds) but still some juicy sultana and fresh nuts with dashes of lemon. Needs water. Demerara sugars emerge eventually.
With water: Quite weighty yet elegant. Great balance of oak, fruit, sugars, citrus, and delicate nutty bitterness. Very rich. Medium length, dissolving slowly and softly.

Balance: On this form, is this the greatest value dram available? Must be top three at least. The nose is clean, elegant, full yet uncluttered; it is so clean. Needs water to soften the alcohol, but this is a classic sherried whisky, a rare and beautiful joy.