Aberfeldy 21 Madeira Cask Finish is the grown-up version of a very gentle whisky, and it has been dressed in a Madeira coat that fits better than I expected. This Aberfeldy 21 Year Old Madeira Cask Finish review is about a 43% Highland malt that costs about £180, tastes of honey, raisins and toffee with a faint citrus edge, and is a rich, silky, mature dram of real quality.
I like it a great deal. It takes everything that is soft and honeyed about the twelve and adds depth, polish and a little exotic sweetness. It is lovely, and it costs a lot of money for a whisky that is not trying to be showy.
Aberfeldy is Dewar’s malt distillery in Perthshire, owned by Bacardi, and the Aberfeldy distillery has been making honeyed whisky since 1896. The 21 is a small-batch release, bottled at 43% with a twenty-one-year age statement. It is matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in Madeira casks, and the distillery lists it as a limited edition that is exclusive to its own shop and website.
Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name, known for its caramelised, nutty, dried-fruit flavours. Cask finishes explains how a finish changes a whisky, and the Madeira is a very good partner for a soft, honeyed spirit. The retail price I found was about £180, and it may vary from shop to shop.
A spoon of dark honey, a handful of raisins and a strip of candied orange peel.
The nose is rich and sweet, with honey, raisins and toffee, then a little citrus peel and a gentle nuttiness. It smells deep, soft and very mature, with a faint exotic sweetness from the Madeira.
On the palate it is smooth and silky, with honey, dried fruit and toffee, then a little spice, a hint of walnut and a soft, dry oak. The 43% gives it a good body, and the texture is rich and a little oily. The Madeira is clear and well integrated, and the honey remains at the centre.
The finish is long, with oak, nuts and a lingering gentle sweetness. It is warm, clean and quite graceful.
A drop or two of water brings out the orange and softens the nuts, and I think it is better for it. I would never add more than a teaspoon, because the beauty is in the texture, and water thins it. It is a whisky to treat gently.
Neat, in a good glass, with no more than a drop of water. It is a whisky for sipping slowly, and I would not put it over ice or in a cocktail. A quiet room and a long evening are the best accompaniments.
It goes well with dark chocolate, a mild blue cheese and a good conversation. It is a gift for somebody who loves honeyed whisky and has been very patient with you.
At about £180 it scores 80. Glenfarclas 21 scores 84 at about £200, which is four points better for £20 more. Glenfarclas 12 scores 80 at about £48, the same score for £132 less. Highland Park 12 scores 81 at about £43, and The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood scores 83 at about £48.
That is the honest arithmetic. The Aberfeldy 21 scores the same as the Glenfarclas 12 and costs nearly four times as much, and the Glenfarclas 21 is a better whisky for a little more. I think it is a lovely bottle, and the price reflects age and scarcity and not the glass.
A twenty-one-year-old whisky has spent a long time in a warehouse, and a good deal of it has evaporated. The price reflects that waste, and it also reflects the fact that very few distilleries have this much old stock to spare. A limited release at this age is a rare thing, and the distillery knows it.
The question is what you get for the money. In this case it is a very smooth, very mature, very gentle whisky with a lovely Madeira note, and it is a pleasure. It is also a whisky that does not change the world, and I would happily drink it, and I would not buy it when the sherried twelves cost a quarter of the price.
Four more bottles, from the better buys to the other mature malts.
A sherried Speyside malt that scores four points higher for £20 more.
A rich, traditional sherry malt with the same score for £132 less.
A honeyed, sherry-finished malt that scores three points higher for £132 less.
A honeyed, lightly smoky Orkney malt that scores a point higher for £137 less.
Aberfeldy 21 Madeira Cask Finish is honeyed, raisined, silky and beautifully mature, a gentle Highland malt of real class. It is a lovely drink at a price that has nothing to do with the glass, and the sherried twelves are the better value.
Caskable score: 80 out of 100.
Honey, raisins, toffee and a little citrus peel
Rich and silky, with honey, dried fruit and soft spice
Long, warm and gently sweet, with oak and nuts
A lovely, mature, Madeira-kissed Highland malt at a price that asks a lot.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
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