Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley
Eighteen-year-old Aberfeldy finished in red wine casks from Napa Valley. Red berries and spices alongside honey, at 43%: the bottle to sip slowly.
Scotch malt, Californian wine cask
This Aberfeldy belongs to the distillery's wine cask series. The whisky first matures for eighteen years in refill casks and hogsheads, large oak casks that preserve Aberfeldy's honeyed style. It then spends approximately fifteen months in casks that previously held Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, California.
The red wine leaves its mark: red berries and pronounced spiciness, layered over the green apple and honey associated with Aberfeldy. It is bottled at 43%, stronger than the 12 and 16 Years, giving it more body. It is released annually; the version this page is based on is the 2023 edition.
In brief
Red berries, apple and a spicy edge
Red berries
The wine cask makes its presence known first with red fruit, followed by green apple and Aberfeldy's soft honey.
Fruity and spicy
Round and smooth, with honey and apple, and a spiciness not found in the younger bottles. The 43% gives it slightly more weight.
Long and warm
A warm finish in which the spices and red fruit linger longest, with honey as the final note.
Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley flavor profile, neat. Compared with the 12 Years, it is spicier and fruitier, and slightly more robust at 43%.
Taste like a winemaker
An eighteen-year-old bottle with a wine finish should be drunk neat. Treat it a little like a glass of red wine: let it breathe, smell it, taste it.
Neat, after ten minutes
3 cl in a tulip-shaped tasting glass, then do nothing for a while. After about ten minutes, the alcohol has settled somewhat and the red berries and spices come through much more clearly.
Glass: tasting glass →With a few drops of water
Add two or three drops of cool water with a straw or pipette. At 43%, this opens up the whisky: the apple and honey become more prominent alongside the wine cask.
Tasting glasses →Next to the 12 Years
Pour a small glass of 12 Years and a small glass of 18 Napa Valley side by side. This way, you can taste exactly what six extra years and a red wine cask with the same honey base do.
About the 12 Years →Classics this bottle deserves
Mixing it away would be a shame. If you do want a cocktail, choose a stirred classic with few ingredients, in which the whisky has the final say.
Old Fashioned
Whisky, a little sugar and bitters. The red fruit comes through beautifully.
Manhattan
Whisky with sweet vermouth and bitters. The wine finish complements the vermouth.
Sazerac
Whisky, sugar and bitters in a glass rinsed with absinthe. Spice on spice.
Hot Toddy
Whisky with hot water, honey and lemon. For a cold evening with an old-fashioned glass.The right glass for Aberfeldy 18 Years
A tulip-shaped tasting glass or a snifter, allowing the red fruit and spices to gather. A crystal tumbler for those who prefer a weighty glass in hand.
More Aberfeldy flavours
Aberfeldy
Where it all began. On the brand page, you'll find everything about Aberfeldy: origins, varieties and classic cocktails.
Go to Aberfeldy →
Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition
Sixteen years old with an oloroso finish: honey, fruitcake and dark chocolate. A malt for after dinner.
View Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition →Everything about whisky: the types, best-known brands and cocktails.
Questions about Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley
Didn't find your question? Read more on the Aberfeldy page or explore our cocktail recipes.
Everything about Aberfeldy →