Aberfeldy Single Malt Scotch Whisky has unveiled two new limited-edition expressions: Aberfeldy 18 Years Old, finished in French red wine casks from Pauillac, and Aberfeldy 20 Years Old Small Batch, finished in sauternes wine casks.
The 18 year old underwent a finishing period of around four-to-five months in Pauilliac casks, a red wine from Bordeaux. Pauillac has flavors of cassis, blackberry, tobacco, cigar box, spice, earth and cedar wood aromas coupled with firm tannins. It’s a robust wine, so the goal was to use this cask type to complement and elevate the signature honeyed character of Aberfeldy — not mask it.
“Pauillac casks are the aristocrats of the Médoc, they provide notes of black cherries, blackberries and a cedar wood spice,” says Malt Master Stephanie MacLeod. “Aberfeldy’s wonderfully soft signature honey and creamy vanilla notes are invigorated with swathes of plush ripe fruits and lovely nutty aromas to create an incredibly elegant and fruitful whisky.”
Aberfeldy 18 Years Old French Red Wine Cask expression is bottled at 43%. This new expression is available starting this month for a suggested retail price of $120 per 750-ml. bottle.
Aberfeldy 20 Years Old Small Batch joins the brand’s Exceptional Cask Series, which consists of single cask expressions, double-cask bottlings and small-batch releases. This expression finished for a year in Sauternes casks, a sweet wine from France.
“When finishing whiskies, I want to complement the distillery character,” says MacLeod. “Aberfeldy has a glorious honeyed richness, and with this expression, I wanted to add a further layer of flavor complexity and enhance the maturing malt but not mask it. The Sauternes wine cask helps highlight Aberfeldy’s sweet notes of honey and brings golden syrup balanced with citrus peel, peaches and almonds.”
Aberfeldy 20 Years Old Small Batch is 43% ABV and available beginning in October for an SRP of $200 per 750-ml. bottle.
The post Aberfeldy Introduces 18- and 20-Year-Old Scotch Whiskies first appeared on Beverage Dynamics.
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Author: Kyle Swartz