The Malt Cask

I have not really had the opportunity to drink much Aberfeldy since I set off on my whisky journey. The first reason is probably the fact that it isn't a peated whisky, and peat was the main component I was looking for at the beginning. Aberfeldy 12 is a highland single malt known for its gentle honeyed and spicy character and again, this has never featured very high up on my priority list. It is one of the main components of the Dewar's blend as the distillery was created by John Dewar and Sons Ltd in 1898 and still belongs to the Dewar's group today. I have tried the 12 year-old once before, during a food and whisky pairing session I attended last year in Manchester ( find the review here ). It was paired with fresh pineapple and I must say the experience was very enjoyable. As I concluded: "a good alternative to rum with tropical fruit!"  I have also tried a single cask Aberfeldy and a bottle from an independent bottler but nothing mesmerizing in my opin

I have always enjoyed island whiskies, whether it be from Islay, Skye or Orkney, but one I have never really managed to take to is Jura. I tried the Prophecy back a few years ago as I properly got into peated whisky and remember not particularly enjoying the taste of it. More recently, I experienced the 16 years old during a tasting session and again, despite not finding it unpleasant, nothing really got me excited either.  Today my brother came to see me with a bottle of their standard 10 years old that a friend of his gave him and as he is not much of a whisky drinker, he brought it for me to try.  I know you cannot judge a book by its cover but I have never been a fan of the Jura bottles for a start. I have also found disappointing the fact that, like with other distilleries (who mentioned Dalmore…?), most of their regular bottles are released at 40% or 43% ABV, with chill-filtration and [quite a bit of] colouring. But what I generally find to be the problem with Jura is the