Tasting notes for a virgin Aberfeldy

The Aberfeldy Distillery was not into releasing single malt whisky just yet when I visited the location in 2006. It did have a nice visitor centre, however, with much focus on the adventures of the Dewar family that is so linked with the distillery. We bought a bottled of the then just newly designed 12 years old, and moved on to the stream behind the distillery, in a charming little forest. We had a terrific walk here, but not did find any gold, sadly. Later that week we went canyoning nearby, which also was an excellent experience. This part of Perthshire is just amazing.

But I guess you are here for whisky, right? Well, we have an Aberfeldy in the glass today, and it was taken from a series called Exceptional Casks. We will put that to the test. It is fun to see how the brand developed and many more official Aberfeldy single malt was released, some of them quite nice. I still like the 12 years old today, even though it has become a little too light for my taste. The link with the blended Dewar’s whisky is very obvious.

Aberfeldy 2014, 9 years old, bottled at 59,7 % abv

Makeup: This Aberfeldy was matured in bourbon casks and virgin oak. This Exceptional Casks Series is actually a batch, consisting of the casks 590005 to 590009, resulting in 1152 bottles.

General impressions: Nice dark colour on this one. Very fragrant to nose, even at this high strength, producing honeyed notes, strong hints of wood (pencils shavings, sawdust) and also something syrupy. I suddenly crave pancakes. Some furniture polish to round it up. Quite talkative and offers a lot. The taste however can not keep up with this promise, just being a bit more wood forward. It starts soft and gentle, as if the high abv has to wake up for a second, and then it becomes hot with alcohol. Certainly entertaining. Obviously, this Aberfeldy offers a lot of wood, but I would not go as far as to call it a bourbon Scotch whisky. The finish is nicely warming. More wood spices come out with a dash of water, combined with hints of glue on the nose, and bitter fruits on the tongue. The finish looses some of its charm with diluting.

Conclusion: An Aberfeldy that delivers a lot of fun. The virgin oak certainly leaves a mark, and the high alcohol is problematic in the sense that it needs a lot of tinkering. Still, this is a whisky to play around with and it has enough basis to start from. You won’t get bored.

Score: 84 points

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