The Malt Cask

As I have just finished an online Aberfeldy tasting, I thought I would do a quick review of the 20 year-old Exceptional Cask which I got to try for it. This is a whisky which is only available through the distillery. It was distilled 27-04-1998 and bottled 11-01-2019. The whisky spent 16 years in an ex-bourbon cask before spending four more years in a first-fill ex-Oloroso cask, and was bottled unchillfiltered, natural colour and at the natural cask strength of 54.1%. Photo courtesy of  www.dewars.com Nose: Rich, sweet and fruity, raisin, oak spice, wood polish and old bookshelf, nutty, dark chocolate  and caramel, and some orange notes too. Very inviting! Palate: First I get some citrus notes, orange, candied peels, hints of bitterness, dark chocolate, before some honey and spices. It is quite rich and fruity (ripe peaches), with some oaky notes and some nuttiness too. Delicious. Finish: The Oloroso comes through more prominently on the finish with its...

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 haven't really mentioned many of the tasting sessions I attended at the WhiskyShop Manchester since the Old and Rare one at the end of November. I was there a week ago for a customers' favourite session which was rather busy and had some decent bottles for us to try (anCnoc 12, Benriach 10, Old Pulteney 12, GlenDronach 12, Bunnahabhain 12 and we finished on the Loch Fyne Living cask -a peated vatted malt- served with some blue cheese, which announced the theme for this weekend). I was back again this Saturday, this time for my first whisky and food pairing session. 5 bottles on offer and 5 (bite-size) food to go with them. So let me tell you more about what we got to try and mix together. The first dram was Woodford Reserve's Straight Rye, served with a glacé cherry and mint leaves. I think they wanted to try a somehow deconstructed "Old Fashioned" cocktail. For me, the Woodford was the star of the night and the combination of cherry and mint worked a...