Aberfeldy
The Highland malt centered on honey and at the heart of the Dewar's blend. Everything about the 12, 16 and 18 Years, the flavor and the glass that goes with it.
The heart of the Dewar's blend
Aberfeldy was built in 1896 by the sons of John Dewar, on the Pitilie Burn in Perthshire. The distillery was not intended to become famous in its own right but to supply the blend: to this day, Aberfeldy is the most important malt in Dewar's, one of the best-selling blended whiskies in the world. Only in recent decades has it also been seriously sold as a single malt.
The style is unmistakable: honey. Aberfeldy uses long fermentation and slow distillation, producing a sweet, full-bodied malt led by heather honey, baked apple and vanilla. The brand does not call itself 'The Golden Dram' for nothing. There is no smoke here; this is the opposite of an Islay.
In brief
What types of Aberfeldy are there?
The range is small and revolves entirely around age: the older it gets, the deeper the honey.
Aberfeldy 12 Years
The classic bottle: heather honey, baked apple and vanilla, with a soft, lightly spicy finish. The best introduction to the style.
Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition
Four years older and noticeably fuller: more sherry, dried fruit and oak over the honey.
Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley
Eighteen years old and finished in red wine casks from Napa Valley, at 43% ABV. Red fruit and spices alongside the honey; a bottle for enthusiasts.
The 12 Years is the logical bottle; the 16 if you want something fuller.
Heather honey, apple and vanilla
Honey & apple
Heather honey up front, with baked apple, vanilla and a light woody note. Sweet and inviting, without a trace of smoke.
Full and sweet
Fuller-bodied than you would expect at 40%, with honey, stewed apple, vanilla and a light spiciness from the oak.
Warm and lightly spicy
A medium-long, warm finish with honey and ginger. Smooth from start to finish.
Tasting profile of Aberfeldy 12 Years. The 16 Years is fuller and richer in sherry; the 18 Napa Valley adds red fruit and scores higher in intensity.
Three ways to drink Aberfeldy
A honey-sweet malt without smoke works well in a cocktail where you would normally use bourbon.
Neat at room temperature
4 cl in a tulip-shaped tasting glass, without ice. Let it stand for a minute: the honey and baked apple then come through most clearly, with vanilla underneath.
Glass: tasting glass →On the rocks
5 cl over one large ice cube in a heavy tumbler. The melting ice makes it fresher and brings out the apple notes more clearly; the honey holds up well.
Glass: tumbler →As a Whisky Sour
50 ml Aberfeldy 12, 25 ml lemon juice, 15 ml sugar syrup and one egg white, shaken first without ice and then with ice. The honey in the whisky makes the sour rounder than with bourbon.
Whisky Sour recipe →The best cocktails with Aberfeldy
Whisky Sour
Whisky, lemon, sugar and egg white. The honey makes it rounder than with bourbon.
Old Fashioned
Whisky, sugar, bitters and a large ice cube. With honey in the base, less sugar is needed.
Penicillin
Whisky, lemon, honey and ginger, with a smoky float on top.
Hot Toddy
Whisky with hot water, honey, lemon and cloves. The honey fits perfectly here.The right glass for Aberfeldy
A tulip-shaped tasting glass concentrates the honey and apple notes; a heavy tumbler is for whisky on the rocks. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Aberfeldy
Is your question not listed? Check out our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
To the cocktail recipes →