Aberlour 1988/2019 - 31 yo #3325593 - Octave Premium (Duncan Taylor)

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 48.3% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

A brief finishing period in a small sherry octave complements more than three decades of cask maturation in this Aberlour. Filled into cask in May 1988, the Single Malt underwent a final three-month finish before Duncan Taylor bottled it in 2019 for the Octave Premium Range. Compared with a larger cask, the small cask has a greater internal wood surface area relative to the volume of liquid, allowing more intensive interaction between whisky and wood.

Cask 3325593 yielded just 62 bottles. The 31-year-old whisky was bottled at its cask strength of 48.3%, without chill filtration or added colouring. The bottle contains 0.7 litres and comes in gift packaging.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose combines fruitiness with gentle sweetness. Toffee apple aromas give way to earthy notes, accompanied by ginger and lime. Delicate nutty aromas complement the nose.
• Palate: The whisky is full-bodied on the palate. Nutty notes and chocolate-coated fruit meet earthy impressions, rich berry jam and spicy almonds. Oak spice and dried fruit add further layers.
• Finish: The very long finish is marked by intense spice and chocolate. The spice continues to develop, mingling with sweetish oak notes and dark toffee.

Distillery/Bottler:

Aberlour stands beside the Lour Burn in Scotland’s Speyside region. James Fleming founded the distillery in 1879. After a fire destroyed parts of the site in 1898, it was rebuilt under distillery architect Charles Doig.

Independent bottler Duncan Taylor, based in Huntly, selected and bottled this whisky. Founded in 1938, the company spent many years exploring how additional maturation in small casks affects already matured Single Malts and Single Grains. This work led to the Octave range. To make the sherry octaves, former sherry casks are rebuilt into smaller casks in Spain; the subsequent finishing period adds to the character of whisky previously matured in larger casks.

Facts: