Aberfeldy 20 Years Old 1994 (56.9%, OB, Sherry Cask #6978, 2014)

• Category: Highland single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: Aberfeldy Distillery
• Bottling: Distillery Only Bottle-Your-Own
• ABV: 56.9%
• Cost: £80 for 70cl
• Score: 84/100

What they say:

Distillery exclusive bottle-your-own Cask 6978 was laid down in 1994, this sample was taken in 2014 (hence ~ 20 years old)

What I say:

Many thanks to Tom of Toms Whisky Reviews for the sample from this bottle-your-own/distillery exclusive expression from Aberfeldy.

Colour:

Dark copper brown (15/20), medium-large droplet tears with medium trails

Nose:

Cinnamon Danish and apple strudel pastries, floral and fragrant, toffee, oak wood, spicy cinnamon and nutmeg, cereal barley malt, spicy then sweet, malted milk biscuits

Taste:

Initially spicy cinnamon bubblegum, then rich, sweet and malty, almost savoury, molasses, treacle-like, treacle toffee, parkin cake, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, with water become more like spiced butterscotch toffee

Finish:

Long, treacle, sticky and cloying sweetness, oak wood and crème brulee topping (caramelised sugars)

Overall:

A delicious single cask expression with a real toffee-d nature. Lots of nice woody and herbal spices in here like a good gingerbread or parkin cake mix with the treacle influence.