One of the optional extras on the Aberfeldy tour is a premium dram. This was the premium whisky we received; from a lovely little tea pot with the story that shift workers collected their daily dram allotment from the pot (hence Glengoyne’s tea pot drams). My wife sampled hers at the distillery, but as I was the driver I took mine to go. As with some of these other Aberfeldy reviews, I appreciate that the distillery provided to go bottles and labels for the driver’s drams.

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Whisky: Aberfledy 21 Year Exceptional Casks Madeira Finish

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 43%

Cask: Bourbon, Madeira Finish

Age: 21 Years 

Notes: Rich dried fruits and lacquered wood arrived with peppercorns and brown sugar. All told, the aroma was a straightforward affair as the cask-driven fruits and wood dominated with only hints of grassy spirit, tonka beans, and fallen leaves in the background. Medium-bodied and surprisingly syrupy for the reduced bottling strength, the palate presented dried oranges and tangerine slices with a side of stone fruit preserves. Orange oil and a touch of aniseed carried on as more lacquered wood and a touch of bitter, peppery wood arrived— all very in line with a cocktail making class as orange, malt, and herbal bitters joined together. The finish was medium-length and drying with a touch of bitter wood and dried fruits.

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Score: 6 (76)

Mental Image: Cocktail Class Cutting Board

Conclusion: The aroma was pleasant, if not rather neutered, as it took a bit of effort to get more than pleasantly mellow dried fruits and wood. The palate was a more lively and balanced affair with plenty of rich stone fruits and citrus. This was one of those rare drams in which I found the palate did most of the talking and the aroma was nothing to write home about— it is nearly always the opposite with the aroma more complex than the palate. Overall, a pleasant whisky with a few surprises, but for $300 I want more. I could not help but wonder how this would have been with a slightly higher bottling strength.