Aberlour, over 12 years old, V.O.H.M., 43% abv.

The VOHM stands for very old highland malt and the bottle tries to mimic a VSOP cognac bottle of that time, the 1980's.

Nose: a ton of dried fruit, sweet, salted butter, caramel, burnt tips of honey glazed charsiu (cantonese bbq pork), japanese rice crackers, hints of kitkats, hints of chocolate.

Palate: light bodied, light wood, hints of chocolate, the taste of taking a deep breath walking in a garden with small trees and tall bushes.

Finish: although a very moist mouthfeel, slightly dry, menthol, no abv burn but I could feel the alcohol, like a clear, low proof distilled spirit.

What a nose! The aromas were quite sweet, not intense, but a very good balance between finesse and impact. The body of flavors weren't up to par though, so I can surmise it was not sherry cask matured or finished, which is what I'm used to from the current Aberlour product line. The finish is a little weird too where it feels more like vodka/soju than scotch. Starts at a high level and ends unimpressively, I wish the body had nicer flavors and some complexity. Had this at Bar Mottie, Busan, South Korea.

Grade: C+

Whiskyfun.com, Serge, 84 points
Divingforpearlsblog, Michael Kravitz, 83
Malt maniacs, 84 points from 4 reviews
LA whiskey society, Andy, C+ for 40% abv

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

🇭🇰 🇺🇸(LA, SF) -> 🇯🇵 (京都, 東京) -> 🇰🇷 (서울, 부산)