One thing that I like is to have a "standard" bottle of every type of spirit that I like to enjoy. That is, one certain brand and type that I always want to have at home no matter what. With that said, I don't mean a base spirit that everyone needs in their liquor cabinet, but a really nice spirit I don't want to be without.
For whisky that is Aberlour A'Bunad so I thought I should write a couple of words about it. But first, what is needed to become one of my "standards"?
1. It needs to be easily available.
That means that all limited editions are immediately disqualified, and for me it also needs to be sold at most Systembolaget stores near where I live.
2. It can't be to expensive.
A standard that you always want a bottle of at home needs to be affordable. You should never need to think twice about pouring up a big glass for yourself or to a friend. For me that means a bottle may not cost more than 100€ and preferably it should be around 50-60€ at most.
3. It must have great taste and value
Essentially it needs to be the best tasting spirit in it's price range. Also a 100€ bottle really needs to be 100% better than a 50€ bottle, otherwise the 50€ bottle comes out on top. Of course this is very subjective.
Sherry all the way
As far as whisky goes I'm very much a sherry cask guy, so if I only could have one whisky at home it would absolutely be a "sherry bomb". That is of course exactly what Aberlour A'Bundah is! I do like other types of whisky as well but as said, if I only get one it will be something aged on sherry casks.
The A'bundah costs about 65€ here in Sweden and I would say that's a steal! This is not only a great whisky for its price, it's just an amazing whisky overall and one of my absolute favorites no matter the price.
The taste
This is a strong, powerful spirit which usually is a round 60% ABV (120 proof), it may vary a bit depending which batch your bottle is from as it is bottled straight from the cask. The same goes for the taste but it's close enough to write a couple of words about it and one thing is for sure, it's always amazing! A short description is that this whisky is a real taste explosion with sweet fruity notes of apricot and orange zest. It is spicy and a bit rough, but in a good way. I would not water it down because it makes it a bit smoother and you loose much of the that wonderful rough taste.
The conclusion is that I can't recommend this whisky enough if you like stronger whiskys with a lot of taste..