On to Abelour

This is distillery number 14 on my tour.  This photo is of the lovely gatehouse, gift shop building. I made a reservation to be included on the 2 pm tour. The tour was well arranged. There were six tastings put in front of us. The first was raw spirit. As you may have deduced by now, it goes against my nature to turn down an alcoholic beverage. Be that as it may, raw spirit is called moonshine where I grew up in the Ontario Lowlands of Canada. One of my friends very eloquently summed up moonshine when he stated,
with the voice of experience,"That stuff will make you throw rocks at your own house!"
I took a pass on the raw spirit.

Fortunately, there were five tastings to follow. These tastings are all very fine. All are welcome in my drinks cabinet

16 year old Bourbon Cask 54.4% deep golden colour, vanilla nose, peppery on the lips, short finish

16 year old Sherry Cask Matured, dark amber colour, very nice flavour

10 year old 90% Bourbon Cask, 10% Sherry Cask, 43% alcohol, amber colour, apples, pears on the nose, sweet, smooth, easy to drink. (I know, I know, they are ALL easy to drink when you love whisky. I thought that when I came across an excellent 10 year old expression of the whisky maker's art, it is important to point this out) Now my editing note is longer than the tasting note!

16 year old Bourbon Cask, 50% Sherry Cask, Final 6 months in a sherry cask, deep golden amber, apples, spiciness, nuttiness

A'bunadh - taste from the past. This whisky is based on an old bottle whose characteristics were duplicated by the master whisky makers of Abelour. It is aged in Spanish olorosa sherry buttes for 5-20 years. The average age is 12 years old. 60.3% alcohol, dark golden colour, chocolate,orange,cherry,spice.

 I sat in one of these chairs and had several lovely visits with  whisky lovers from
around the world. We all agreed that whisky tastes better in Scotland.

The conclusive statement that was agreed to by one and all at the director's chair
symposium....Further study is required!