Aberlour 1992 (Liquid Treasures)

If you say Aberlour and sherry cask, then you’re thinking of sherry bombs like the Aberlour A’Bunadh, right? However this one is 26 years old yet it is lighter than those A’Bunadh releases, so something must be different.

Aberlour 26 yo 1992 (51,9%, Liquid Treasures ‘10th Anniversary’ 2019, sherry hogshead, 101 btl.)

Nose: rather elegant, with a nicely dusty side. Old closets, hessian, waxy notes. Crushed peppercorns, hints of limestone. Then some ripe plums, hints of Calvados, blonde tobacco. Lime juice, a little pineapple and melon. Pollen, hints of bread dough. Quite an intriguing mix.

Mouth: again quite uncommon. There’s a vivid green fruitiness (apples, gooseberries, rhubarb), as well as an au-de-vie touch, mixed with green oak and some pencil shavings. Some grape skins, like a wine finish. A light rubbery touch. Liquorice.

Finish: long, still with this aromatic oaky side, rhubarb, a little pepper and nutmeg.

A bit of a weird duck, hard to score. It’s certainly not a classic sherry influence. Nonetheless it does have an aromatic (green) wood character, perhaps a re-racked cask? Interesting, really interesting. Around € 170.

Score: 85/100