Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition
Aberfeldy's honey, but with a layer of fruitcake and dark chocolate over it. Sixteen years in oak, followed by a finish in first fill oloroso sherry casks.
Four years older, and a second cask added
The 16 Years Distillers Edition begins like every Aberfeldy: unpeated Highland malt from the distillery that supplies the Dewar's blend. The difference lies in the time and the final cask. It first spends sixteen years in oak and then receives a finish in first fill oloroso sherry casks, casks filled with whisky for the first time after holding sherry and therefore still imparting plenty of that sherry character.
You notice it immediately. While the 12 Years is light and honey-sweet, this one adds a darker layer: fruitcake, dried fruit and dark chocolate, with the honey still clearly underneath. It is bottled at 40%, just like the 12, so it is not higher in alcohol, but it is fuller in flavor. There is no smoke in this bottle either.
In brief
Honey with a sherry edge
Honey & fruitcake
The familiar heather honey, now with raisin and fruitcake running through it. The sherry is clearly present without overpowering the honey.
Rich and fruity
Fuller than the 12 Years: honey-sweet and fruity, with dried fruit and a dark note of dark chocolate.
Chocolate and oak
A warm, medium-length finish where the chocolate and oak linger. Smooth, without any sharpness.
Tasting profile of Aberfeldy 16 Years neat, without water. It is fuller than the 12 Years, but at 40% it is just as mild in alcohol.
How to get the most out of the 16 Years
This is a whisky to sip slowly. Take your time: the layer of sherry only opens up after a few minutes in the glass.
Neat in a tulip glass
3 to 4 cl at room temperature in a tulip-shaped tasting glass. Smell it first with your mouth slightly open, let it sit for five minutes, and smell it again: only then does the fruitcake really come forward.
Glass: tasting glass →Alongside a piece of chocolate
Pour 4 cl into a tumbler without ice and enjoy it with a piece of dark chocolate. The chocolate note in the whisky and the bitterness of the chocolate enhance each other.
Tumblers →As a Rusty Nail
Stir 45 ml Aberfeldy 16 and 20 ml Drambuie over ice, then strain into a tumbler with one large ice cube. The honey in the whisky and the liqueur come together perfectly.
Rusty Nail recipe →Cocktails for a sherried Aberfeldy
Mixing should be done in moderation, but in a stirred cocktail with few ingredients, the 16 Years holds its own.
Rusty Nail
Whisky and Drambuie over ice. Two kinds of honey in one glass.
Godfather
Whisky with amaretto. The fruitcake in the 16 Years pairs with the almond.
Boulevardier
Whisky, red vermouth, and Campari. The sherry stands up to the bitterness.
Manhattan
Whisky, red vermouth, and bitters, stirred cold. Round and dark with this malt.The right glass for Aberfeldy 16 Years
A tulip-shaped glass gathers the sherry and honey notes; a heavy tumbler is for a Rusty Nail or a glass with one ice cube.
More Aberfeldy flavors
Aberfeldy
Where it began. On the brand page, you'll find everything about Aberfeldy: its origins, varieties and classic cocktails.
Go to Aberfeldy →
Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley
Eighteen years old, finished in Cabernet Sauvignon casks from Napa Valley. Red berries and spices over the honey.
View Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley →Everything about whisky: the types, the best-known brands and the cocktails.
Questions about Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition
Can't find your question here? Read more on the Aberfeldy page or check out our cocktail recipes.
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