1975 25yo Aberfeldy versus 1993 25yo Aberfeldy

Aberfeldy? Yeah, Aberfeldy. I've never sought out samples from this Speysider because its indie bottlings are relatively rare, official bottlings are usually 40%abv, and it's the main malt for Dewar's White Label, one of the least inspiring blends in the business for at least 15 years.

Diving for Pearls is now tripling its total Aberfeldy review count with these two samples that got mixed up in the D4P Aberlour sample section. Both whiskies come from 25-year-old single sherry casks bottled by two indie grandpas, Cadenhead and Gordon & MacPhail. I have no idea what to expect from these, so here I go...

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Distillery: Aberfeldy
Current ownership: Bacardi

Ownership in 1975: Distillers Company Limited
Region: Speyside (Perthshire)

Bottler: Cadenhead

Range: Authentic Collection

Age: 25 years (1975 - July 2001)

Maturation: sherry hogshead

Outturn: 228 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 57%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose is weird and fun. It's a swirl of orange blossom, lemon peel, fresh ginger, apple candy, and a lot of saline. The palate is very fruity with a mix of citrus peels and cherry things (black cherry juice, tart cherries, cherry hard candies, etc.). There's also some old school industrial greasiness to it. The finish summarizes the palate's elements: cherry candy, bitter citrus peel, and that industrial edge.

DILUTED to ~50%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

It's as if the nose gains focus. There's one layer of almonds, crème brûlée, and lemons; and another layer of ocean and metals. The palate has become earthy and very herbal, with a striking wormwood bitterness. Tart cherries and fresh plums play around the edges. It finishes with marzipan, cherry juice, and bitter citrus.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This is an old-fashioned whisky in that it feels completely unproduced and unpolished. It's dirtier and stranger than contemporary Aberfeldy, in all the best ways. The slight dilution works wonders, bringing the fruits and powerful herbal sides together. Inspiring whisky.

Availability - Secondary market?
Pricing - ???
Rating - 90

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Yes, a 90-point Aberfeldy. How about the 1993?

Distillery: Aberfeldy
Current ownership: Bacardi

Ownership in 1993: United Distillers
Region: Speyside (Perthshire)

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength

Age: 25 years (6 June 1993 - 21 June 2018)

Maturation: first-fill sherry puncheon

Cask #: 4054

Outturn: 444 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 58.8%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose is rich and woody in a modern style, but still very good. Walnuts and chocolate. Bourbon-y char and maple syrup. Dates, orange peel, white gummy bears, and baked peaches. Meanwhile, the palate goes another direction. Musty old oak in the dunnage. Gentle baking spices, shortbread cookies, dried apricots, oranges, and a quiet pepperiness. It finishes simply with dried apricot, lemons, and a sprinkle of oak spice.

DILUTED to ~50%abv, or 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose has shifted to dunnage, dates, dark chocolate, and cloves. The palate keeps the musty dusty note and light pepperiness, while introducing mint leaves and dates. All of this stays on through the finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Oh my, this one is great, too. THAT, I did not expect. Dunnage and dates will get me every time, and the fruit never leaves. The nose had me worried at first, but patience and the palate won out. Though the 1975 cask won, it wasn't by much. Congrats to those who've captured their own bottle of this 1993. What else is Aberfeldy hiding or burying?

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - ???
Rating - 88

Single Malt Report: A flock of Indies (Part 2) courtesy of OC Scotch Club

This is the second of three posts covering the whiskys I tried on July 12th with the OC Scotch Club.

You can find Part 1 here.

PART 2:

Whisky #3 - Aberfeldy 13yr 1998 (Chieftain's)

Sorry, no decent bottle pics.
Had to nab this label from whiskyintelligence.com

Distillery: Aberfeldy
Ownership: Bacardi (via John Dewar and Sons)
Bottler: Chieftain's
Age: minimum 13 years
Maturation: refill American Oak
Region: Eastern Highlands
Chillfiltered? Nope
Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Ah, my first Aberfeldy and my first Chieftain's.

That Aberfeldy is called the home of Dewar's isn't just due to its use in their blends.  The Dewar family actually built the distillery in 1896.  After a two-year closure, the distillery was purchased by DCL (proto-Diageo) in 1925.  In a rare move by Diageo, the giant sold the distillery to Bacardi in 1998.  Unsurprisingly, Diageo had made little effort to promote the Aberfeldy single malt.  Since the acquisition, Barcardi/Dewar's immediately began promoting and bottling the malt.  It's still mostly used for the Dewar's blends, but a several percent of the output makes it into the bottle without any grain whisky additions.

Meanwhile, Chieftain's is an independent label owned by Ian MacLeod Distillers (who, just to confuse you further, owns their distilleries: Glengoyne and Tamdhu).  I've noticed that their pricing tends to be higher than parallel official bottlings, though sometimes they have moderate prices on their cask strength releases.

At the event, I sampled 0.5 ounces of Aberfeldy neatly in a Glencairn glass.

The color is strikingly similar to a Sauvignon Blanc.  The nose though, is NOT like a Sauvignon Blanc.  It's quite salty (if one can smell salty), cheesy, and nutty.  There's some caramel sauce in there too.  It's a little oaky but not as much as the first two whiskys I'd tried.  The palate packs some generous heat, more oomph.  Brown sugar, black pepper, and sugar cookies lead the way.  Its finish has a medium length and buzzes with freshly ground black pepper.

Because I've never warmed up to any of the blends in the Dewar's range (for instance, this one), I'd set my expectations low low low for the Aberfeldy.  I won't say that this was a great single malt, but it was better than the first two whiskys of the night.  It's not that demanding and shouldn't offend any drinkers.    Its palate is its strength.  My biggest issue with it is the price, which is almost TWICE the standard 12 year bottling.

Availability - Some liquor specialists
Pricing - around $75
Rating - 76

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Whisky #4 - Auchentoshan 20yr 1991 (A.D. Rattray)

Distillery: Auchentoshan
Ownership: Suntory (via Morrison Bowmore)
Bottler: AD Rattray
Age: 20 years (1991-2011)
Maturation: refill ex-sherry
Region: Lowlands
Chillfiltered? Nope
Alcohol by Volume: 57.5%

Now we're talking.  This was an individual cask bottling, burning at full strength, from an indie bottler I like and a distillery I would like to like.

I'll get right down to it.  This one is a weirdo.  And I'm weirdo.  We're made for each other.  Out of the 20+ people at the whisky tasting, only two of us liked this whisky.  Most people REALLY didn't like it, which I can totally understand.  I could imagine someone tasting this and thinking, "This is totally wrong."

Well, if it's wrong, I do not want to be right.

(Like the others, I sampled 0.5 ounces neatly in a Glencairn glass.)

The color is a simple pinot grigio.  So this must have been a 12th-refill sherry cask.  The nose begins with roses, then goes to white pepper.  Slowly it gets sort of oaky, then very green vegetal.  Then there's the palate.  Sandy, chalky, clay, tree roots, and wet cigarettes.  It's almost smoky, but perhaps it's hot cracked white pepper meets a high ABV%.  It delivers a singular sizzle.  The finish is huge, full of that peppery thing and bunch of dark green vegetables.

My last note reads, "Me gusta!"

But you can see why this would get promptly spit/spilled out.  It's so strange.  Kind of haunting actually.  I need some closure.  I need a whole bottle of this stuff to sort things out.

Availability - Some liquor specialists
Pricing - SUPER at $70-$80 (almost the same price as the 13yr lower ABV Aberfeldy!)
Rating - 87 OKAY I'M WRONG, I BOUGHT A BOTTLE AND THE WHISKY IS DISGUSTING. *sob* I'M SORRY FOR THIS POSITIVE REVIEW. Please see this more accurate post. Cheers.

Part Three to follow soon...