An evening with Aberfeldy 2017.

Once again I had the extreme pleasure of taking part in one of the live tweet tastings arranged by Steve Rush from @TheWhiskyWire and @TweetTastings. The evening was a collaboration with Aberfeldy Distillery owned by Dewars, and on the night we were treated to a trio of single malts from the distillery, firstly the ever consistent 12yo then two single casks, one from 2001 and the other 1999.

The evening started with the 12yo which is the entry level whisky in the core range and is made up of whisky from both Bourbon casks and Sherry butts and is bottled at 40% abv .

Nose.. Sweet and floral with an abundance of fruit and honey.. Caramel, citrus and a splash of ginger, cinnamon and a little chocolate on the side…

Palate.. Fruity with a twist of spice.. Honey drizzled over fresh fruits ( apple and pear ) with cinnamon, a little ginger and sugared almonds.. Soft oak and a little butterscotch.

A very underrated whisky that is very easy going and a real treat when you just want a everyday sipper..

Next up on the night was a nice treat in the form of a single cask from 2001. This cask is a single bourbon barrel that has an abv of 55.5% and was drawn from cask #21444… This was Natural colour, NCF and is from the bottle your own range.

Nose.. This starts with caramel and toffee then just exploded into a spicy beast ! Cinnamon, pepper with ground almonds, orange peel, and ripe pear, apple peel and apple blossom.

Palate.. Everything the nose offered the palate just magnified.. Add a little tropical fruits and you have this magnificent beast.

A wonderful whisky that is only available at the distillery and costs £100..

Last up on the night was the 1999 offering in the form of cask #5 which was from a sherry butt ( oloroso ) and was bottled at 56.5% abv..

Nose.. Dates, raisins, plums and apricots all wrapped in chocolate.. Coffee grinds, cigar box with old leather.. Dunnage warehouse with that musty aged wood scent.. A seductive temptress!!

Palate.. Again as above but with so much depth and flavour.

The flavours and aromas on this are not those big whack you round the face types, instead they are reserved and subtle but that just adds to the mystery. Every aroma and flavour you want from a good sherried expression are there and just feel so right, you can or should I say you should sit with this for as long as you can! This wasn’t rushed from the maturation do show it the respect it deserves and savour every minute.. It won’t last long !!

Again #5 was from the bottle your own range and has a price tag of £150. This whisky was the winner of the Scottish Field summer whisky challenge and went on to gain a silver medal in the overall final.. And of course my pick on the night.

Aberfeldy is a Distillery that is a must visit place, the surrounding area is beautiful and the distillery itself is a wonderful place full of fantastic whisky and of course very friendly staff.. Located on the outskirts of Aberfeldy on the southern bank of Loch Tay this highland distillery will not disappoint anyone who visits.

My thanks go out to Steve Rush for once again organising another great tasting, Aberfeldy (Si on the night ) and Gary Ross who were there to answer all our questions and of course supply these wonderful samples..

picture ( below ) courtesy of Aberfeldy