Review 78 - 27th September 2020

Bacardi Ltd own Dewars, who own Aberfeldy, a highland distillery. In this review we are looking at the first age statement offering in their core range, their 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky.

It retails for an average of £35.25, some supermarkets stock it, however, its not too widely available on the shelves, typically you would be looking at specialist stores or online to find a bottle. It is chill filtered and has colour adjustment with E150 caramel. Bottled at 40% ABV it recieves a value score of 84.05 out of 100, which is standard for this type of offering.

On the nose it is aromatic, the whisky jumps out of the glass and offers up a sweet bouquet of fruits, spice and floral elements. It draws you in with an inviting promise of the taste to come. Let it sit a little while and the fruits suggest orange, apple and pear married with some baked pastries spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon. This is a bourbon matured malt, but the nose suggests sherry.

On the palate you will not be disappointed. It starts a little bitter, but this soon gives way to the expected fruits, initially you think berries, but it very quickly becomes pear, apple and orange. The fruit continues into the finish which become bitter with the addition of creamy milk chocolate and drying spices.

This is very much an easy sipper, its tasty and maybe a session whisky. It is very much a gateway malt, reminiscent of Glenfiddich 12. It easily sits in the same category as its pears such as Glenmorangie 10, Glenfarclas 10 or 12 and the soon to be lost Aberlour 10.

Is it worth the price? At is regular retail price, Glenfiddich 12 is about the same price, however, the Glenfiddich is quite often available on offer at around £25, so that is the better buy, but thats not deminishing anything the Aberfeldy offers, it is still a great dram, even better if you can find it on an offer price. We would buy another bottle if we spotted an offer price. Overall we score it 86 out of 100.

Final word, we don't see the Aberfeldy talked about much, it very much appears off the radar, why? Who knows but the situation needs correcting.