Aberfeldy 12 Year

Delicious! This was one of the first whiskies that got me really excited about exploring scotch. I purchased it again after a few years of exploring peated and sherried whiskies and still enjoyed it because it dominates within its flavour profile. Nose: candy, caramel, apple, oak. Palette: caramel, apple, coffee, cappuccino, oak. Finish: long, oak. For the price you're getting a dynamic scotch that's bold and flavourful, a definite winner at this price point. Great for enjoying with friends.

If you've ever had anything from Dewars then you've had plenty of this malt. This is the key whisky used in all of their blends. They recently decided to start offering their stuff up as an age statement, single malt. This 12 year old vintage was supplied by Ryan as another tick off of our Scottish distillery tour. This particular malt comes in at the standard 40% ABV and was probably chill filtered and has colorant added to make it a pale, straw yellow in the glencairn. It's somewhat bland on the nose: faint orchard fruits and cereal notes really hide any oak spice. I kind of get a slight, off-putting and semi-fake sweetness that doesn't really excite me as I move in for the initial sip. There's an abundance of honey and toffee that coats the tongue but the mouthfeel is relatively thin. A bit of bitter and surprisingly harsh oak spice overtakes the sweetness and leads to a rough, yet short finish. The low ABV makes the entire experience over pretty quickly, too. I'm pretty sure this stuff is rather cheap but I can't see myself buying a full bottle or even pursuing a longer aged bottle. This stuff was made for and belongs exclusively in blends like Dewars. Thanks to Ryan for supplying the sample, but I think I'd keep looking elsewhere if I were in the market for a $35-40 single malt. 2.75-3 stars, max. Cheers, guys.