Review No.131. Aberfeldy 16

Aberfeldy is another whisky in Bacardi’s Last Great Malts range and is located in the Speyside region.  Their range consists of a 12 year old, 16 year old and a 21 year old.  It was only since 1999 that Aberfeldy was sold as a single malt and before that it was solely used for Dewar’s blends.  This 16 year old bottle has been matured in bourbon casks and finished in sherry casks.

Whisky: Aberfeldy 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 40%

Nose: Red fruits, cinnamon, oak, leather, fresh bread, butterscotch, lemon cake

Taste: Oak, berries, citrus, honey, salt, roasted nuts, burnt toast

Finish: Honey and burnt toast

Score: 2.5

Summary: This is another one of those single malts that I found more appealing on the nose than on the palate.  I put this down to the fact that it is bottled at 40% which is quite stingy.  There is so much promise to this and there are nice flavours within this malts that work well in combination.  There is a bitterness to this which I can only describe as burnt toast and it appears towards the finish.  This is a decent single malt but I expected some more complexity for a 16 year old.  There is a very good whisky in here that is being held back.

Scoring scale: My scores reflect a balance of the overall experience, availability and cost for a whisky,

1 – not to my preference

2 – tastes fine but does not excite me

3 – more to my liking and would revisit occasionally

4 – very much to my liking and would consider as a regular feature on my whisky shelf

5 – permanent feature on my whisky shelf

Image source: www.thewhiskyexchange.com