Aberfeldy 16 Year

Very enjoyable whisky. Can be sweet up front, but has some nice complexity on the mid to late palete as well. Honey and forest floor notes as well as nice oak.

Really smooth, sweet with a bit of spice. Really enjoyable!

This one is a treat, sweet sherry oak, rich with good qualities, smooth and pleasantly warm, perhaps too easygoing.

This is the second night in a row that I’m reviewing a 16-year single malt from a line from which I’d only previously had the 12-year. The Mortlach 12 definitely made more of an impression than the Aberfeldy 12, so hopefully this one here can even out the score. Nose: Honey, butterscotch, vanilla, toffee, and caramel. Floral notes. Apple, apricot, and pear. Orange, tangerine, and golden raisin. Almond. Sugar cookie. Light clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. Cinnamon and white pepper as well. It’s on the lighter side; which comes as no surprise at 40% ABV. Palate: Caramel, toffee, vanilla, butterscotch, and honey. Gala apple, golden raisin, and grape. Apricot. Sherry notes and almond. Almond butter. Oak and baking spice. Finish: Almond/almond butter and macadamia. Honey, butterscotch, vanilla, toffee, and caramel. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Short, maybe short-moderate finish. I’ve said it many times, and I really don’t like saying it because it makes me feel like I’m discriminating against the 40% ABV bottlings. But it is always true. They are always relatively simple. And while this is a perfectly good whisky, it is extremely evident that it would be far superior at a higher proof. Why take the time and care to age this in quality barrels for more than a decade and a half, only to water this down to the absolute bare minimum? This is a fine whisky. Perfectly pleasant, nice balance, solid profile. But at 40%, there isn’t enough complexity here give it the score I’d like to when I’m really being critical. And that’s a shame, because it’s an objectively good whisky at a great price when you consider the age statement. At $90, I just need more complexity. This is a 3.25 or a 3.5 whisky on its face. But I need more punch, and VFM drags this down despite the incredible age statement at the cost. 3/5 even.

A mixture of cherry, dark chocolate and smoked coffee on the nose. Some licorice toffe and smoothie peaches on the palate