Spirits

The jewel in the Chivas crown, Aberlour has been a lynchpin of the Speyside landscape since its founding by James Fleming in 1879. Situated in the eponymous village of Aberlour between the River Spey and Ben Rinnes, Aberlour is as decorated a distillery as they come, winning 58 titles at the IWSC and ISC for their various expressions, presenting quality and consistency matched by few if any distilleries in Scotland or around the world.

Aberlour is one of the most popular Speyside single malts for very good reason. Known and beloved for its classic, richly sherried style and incredible balance it is, for many, the first point of contact with both heavily sherried whisky and cask strength whisky in the form of the ever-popular A'bunadh expression. Single cask renditions are however increasingly rare as the distillery's profile raises to such levels that more and more of the spirit is dedicated to distillery bottlings. Those that are found on the market are highly coveted and jealously sought-after.

A rare find on the cask market, this 8-year-old refill hogshead is a relative bargain given the strength of the brand and full naming rights. Sold with OLA numbers rather than RLA, it comes at a solid discount presenting the savvy investor with added upside along with the looming landmark age statements of 10 and 12 years. Suited for the long term as Aberlour's spirit ages exceptionally well, look for this to take on a softened bourbon sweetness and gentle orchard fruit characteristic over the years which will lend itself well to either finishing or to secondary maturation in Sherry or even Madeira wood.

Appearance: Showing a brilliant old-brass colour courtesy of the bourbon wood and that unique concentration through the ageing process.

Nose: this whisky jumps out of the glass with notes almost reminiscent of a great White Burgundy. Crushed river stones and struck flint alongside golden delicious apple and herbes de provence come across on the nose.

Palate: The palate is gentle as one would expect from the lower ABV but it is oily and viscous with a sensation of scented candle followed by sea salt, delicate earthy peat and a return of that golden delicious apple note.

Finish: Extremely long and gentle with the initial notes of crushed stones mingling with sea salt and stewed orchard fruit.

Wine Advocate (96)

Wine Advocate (96)

This twelve-year-old Highland Single Malt was distilled in 2008 at the Blair Athol Distillery along the banks of the River Tummel. Drawn from a single, undersized 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel previously used by the Koval Distillery, it is a youthful pale golden colour with bright aromatics of red apple and pear as well as fine vanilla and warm baking spices. A generous, well-balanced highlander from one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland dating back to 1798, this is a personal favourite and a fitting first bottling of the Stiùbhart Single Cask Selection. Bottled at a natural cask strength of 58.9% without chill filtration or added colouring.