Slainte-Mhath
Aberfeldy 12 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
October 15, 2017 (edited March 5, 2024)
Here we have another workhorse of the blend industry, since most of Aberfeldy's production ends up as key component of Dewar's. The nose of this 12-year-old Highlander is unimposing, grainy and slightly acidic with apple cider, heather honey and hints of vinegar. On the palate, it arrives silky, light and malty sweet before turning aromatic and indistinctly sour in the development. A surprisingly milky aftertaste with almonds, muesli and a touch of oak rounds off the experience. It's probably not a very memorable single malt, but nice enough to give it a try.
RATING: 3.0/5.0 stars ≙ 80 pts → AVERAGE
33.0
EUR
per
Bottle
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YouTube videos actually. He is well respected in the whisky world. Sometimes, not lately I would check one of his reviews when doing my own to see if I missed something or to learn more about the distillery
Wait, you guys read about some guy's blog on what he thinks of whiskies he's drinking? Why?
@Slainte-Mhath my biggest issue with Ralfy and his boycott of NAS is that he is constantly going on about judging whisky on its intrinsic values of taste and smell. If it were only based on those two things, a number on a label should have nothing to do with it. That's all, I'm just put off by his hypocrisy. I do agree with you about the need to go the NAS route because of declining stocks, but there are some killer NAS expressions out there
@Generously_Paul: I must admit that I second Ralfy's NAS critism, and I do avoid malts without an age statement unless there is a good reason not to. The trend towards NAS is simply giving you less quality at a higher price. I had this endless discussion with various brand ambassadors, and even THEY admit that this trend is entirely driven by shortage of stocks. Ralfy can be very critic but I do appreciate his honest voice and independence. Horst Lüning runs whisky.de shop and although I am a regular customer there, I think he is way too 'positive' and driven by his interest to sell bottles.
@The_Rev: Not sure if I'd recommend Aberfeldy 12yo as beginners malt. Not that it is a terrible choice, but when I was asked just recently what I could recommend (without knowing whether that person liked peat and/or sherry), I chose Bunnahabhain 12yo. Can't go wrong with that!
@slainte-mhath I've almost given up on Ralfy. He is so down on anything NAS, he is very preachy and shows disdain for so many newer vintages. Horst Leuning is much better and you can also check out Andy from Malt Box. They seem to be much more objective in their reviews
It's a solid "beginner's malt," for lack of a better term. It's not necessarily that interesting or engaging, but it's pleasant and doesn't require a whole lot of thought or test one's palate.
Additional comment: I must admit that I avoided Aberfeldy 12yo for quite a long time because of some fairly negative reviews online (e.g. ralfy review 582). However, after having tasted it a couple of times in the past weeks, I must say it is not THAT bad. Especially the finish is in fact quite enjoyable, and although I would not buy a full bottle, I still think it is an okay 'standard malt' if you factor in the price point. So don't be shy malt mates, always find out for yourselves!