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Aberfeldy 12 Year Old

Let It Open Up And Sweeten

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@VictorReview by @Victor

13th Jun 2012

0

Aberfeldy 12 Year Old
  • Nose
    22
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    21
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    86

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Aberfeldy 12 whisky, produced by John Dewar & Sons Ltd, is proudly labelled on the bottle as "The Heart of Dewar's". I've had this bottle # A54438 open for 8 months. I didn't like this whisky at all for the first six months. This is a review and rating of the whisky at 8 months. For the first 6 months I would have rated this 65 pts, and liked it the least of all of my bottles of malt whisky. For 6 months all I could taste was a locked up tart lemon citrus-- nothing else. It opened up very nicely though

Body: coats the mouth very well

Nose: sweet honey, grass, malt, tart green apples, lemon citrus, and peat

Taste: all of the ripened nose flavours come through beautifully upon delivery

Finish: strong finish, with the peat and citrus becoming stronger still with time. Rich and resonant

Balance: rich and lovely, like a stringed instrument placed strongly vibrato. There is lots expressed here at only 40% ABV.

I can enjoy lemon citrus balanced with other flavours, as expressed here in the oxidised Aberfeldy 12. If lemon citrus is front and center without other strong balancing flavours, I find it just distracting and annoying. Oxidation allowed my bottle of Aberfeldy 12 to become sweeter, rounder, and richer.

This review is another testimony that the same bottle of whisky is a different animal depending upon when it is sampled. I originally looked forward to trying the Aberfeldy 12 because I am almost always quite simpatico with the whisky favourites of one of my whisky buddies, Wodha. I am very happy to see the Aberfeldy 12 evolve into a whisky I greatly enjoy. @Wodha, do you think that I am ready for Glencoe?

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3 comments

@Wodha
Wodha commented

Victor, I'm glad to hear Aberfeldy and you have settled your differences and have found a common ground. I love me some Aberfeldy. It's a different animal and one must put aside one's experience and expectations to fully appreciate this unique single malt. But who am I to suggest you wouldn't see it for what it is? You of all people understand whiskies. I feel that, yes, you are ready for Glencoe. I'm looking forward to hear your opinion!

12 years ago 0

@WhiskyBee
WhiskyBee commented

Victor, I just bought this one tonight, mainly for two reasons: 1) your review; 2) it's fairly cheap.

I hope my experience will be similar to yours in the long run, because it's virtually the same in the short run. My first dram was very, very tight, with loads of condensed puckery sweetness. Only the faintest trace of peat, and I'm not even sure about that. I don't dislike it at this stage quite as much as you -- I'd score it in the mid-70s -- but it's definitely one-dimensional stuff.

If, as you say, time is kind to this one, I can live with that. I'll give it a taste every couple of months or so and see how it develops. I also picked up a couple of cans of Perfect Preserve tonight, but I infer from your review that I should avoid using it with this one.

11 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@WhiskyBee, yes, I would not use the Private Preserve on any whisky that I wanted to leave open to develop. When the Aberfeldy 12 does open up for you, you will probably still get a lot of sweetness.

11 years ago 0