By
George Brozowski
I
believe that after almost 50 years of scotch drinking,
I finally stumbled upon a theory that might just help anyone
pick out a decent scotch. The secret is in the brand name.
If it's difficult to pronounce, can't easily be spelled, and
the name is almost impossible to remember then it must be
really good scotch. Aberfeldy scotch seems to meet those criteria,
so let's explore and see if this offbeat theory holds true.
John
Dewar and sons founded the Aberfeldy Distillery way back in
1896, and except for a couple of brief shut downs during the
world wars, it has been in continuous operation since then
and is the largest malt whiskey component of Dewar's blended
whiskeys. In 1999, they first started bottling Aberfeldy single
malt. They may have waited that long because 90% of their
production goes into blending the Dewar's brand.
The
bottle comes in a cylindrical cardboard container done in
black and gold and the label gives some interesting historical
highlights of the distillery and the Scotch inside the bottle.
The scotch is a deep golden color attributable to those 12
years spent in oak. The nose is a very soft combination of
butterscotch, peaches, honey, just barely there peat, and
very faint oak traces. Overall, this is one seriously laid
back nose. On the palate, the peat and scotch flavor take
front and center followed by citrus and then the oak. The
finish is quite smooth with the oak moving up a bit, followed
by the citrus and concluding with a spicy after note. The
finish is medium in length leaving a nice spicy feel and a
slight smoky cigar taste that makes me want to go get my Cohiba
and light it up.
This
is a very smooth, very light scotch that hits all the right
notes without being overbearing or overly complicated. Dewar's
Aberfeldy 12 year old scotch will set you back $43.99-$49.28
per 750ml bottle, and it weighs in at 40% ABV. If you can
remember how to spell it, pronounce it, and not forget its
name, you should get you some of this single malt scotch;
you won't be disappointed.
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