Aberlour 18 is the sherry-rich end of a distillery that has made its name on good value, and it tastes like the twelve after a very long, very quiet holiday. This Aberlour 18 Year Old review is about a 43% Speyside malt that costs about £150, tastes of dark fruit, toffee and chocolate with a gentle orange note, and is a deep, silky and very mature dram.
I like it a great deal. It is a rich, polished, serious whisky that does not shout, and it is the sort of bottle that makes a special evening feel special. I find the price a lot of money, and I find the whisky does most of the work of justifying it.
Aberlour is a Speyside distillery near the town of the same name, owned by Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard), and the Aberlour distillery is best known for the value of its twelve-year-old. The 18 is the older, darker bottle, bottled at 43% with an eighteen-year age statement.
The cask details are not always clear on the information I could find, and one retailer describes it as matured entirely in sherry-seasoned casks, which would make it a different animal from the double-cask twelve and sixteen. I would treat the wood as largely sherry and check the label. Sherry cask versus bourbon cask explains why that matters, and the price I found on the market was about £150.
A square of dark chocolate, a handful of dried figs and a strip of candied orange.
The nose is deep and sweet, with dark fruit, toffee and chocolate, then a little orange, a hint of nuts and a soft, polished oak. It smells rich, round and very mature, with a calm, quiet sherry depth.
On the palate it is smooth and full, with dried fruit, cocoa and toffee, then a little cinnamon, a hint of coffee and a soft, drying oak. The 43% gives it a good body, and the texture is silky and a little oily. It is rich without being sweet, and the age shows in the poise.
The finish is long and warm, with dark fruit, oak and a gentle bitterness. It is clean, dry and very satisfying.
A drop or two of water brings out the orange and softens the chocolate, and I think it is better for it. It also gets richer as it sits, and the figs come forward. At 43% it takes a little water, and a light hand is the right one.
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 strong cheese and a good conversation. It is a very good gift for somebody who loves sherried whisky and has a special occasion coming up.
At about £150 it scores 81. Glenfarclas 21 scores 84 at about £200, which is three points better for £50 more. Aberlour 12 Double Cask scores 81 at about £38, the same score for £112 less. Aberlour 16 Double Cask scores 80 at about £105, and GlenDronach 12 scores 82 at about £50.
So the Aberlour 18 is a lovely whisky and the same score as the twelve at four times the price. The Glenfarclas 21 is a better whisky for a little more, and the GlenDronach is a point better for £100 less. I would buy the 18 for a special occasion, and I would be honest that the twelve is the bargain.
Eighteen years in a sherry cask turns a good whisky into a dark, silky, chocolatey one. The sweetness deepens, the oak softens and the fruit gets darker, and the result is a malt that feels grown-up and slow. It is a very pleasant place to spend an evening.
The price reflects the years and the casks. Sherry wood is expensive, and eighteen years of evaporation is a lot of lost whisky. I think the whisky is lovely, and I think that for most people the twelve gives about ninety per cent of the pleasure for a quarter of the money, which is the real story of the range.
Four more bottles, from the better buys to the other mature drams.
A sherried Speyside malt that scores three points higher for £50 more.
The twelve-year-old, the same score for £112 less.
A rich Highland malt that scores a point higher for £100 less.
The sixteen-year-old double cask, a point lower for £45 less.
Aberlour 18 is dark, silky, chocolatey and beautifully balanced, a mature Speyside malt of real class. It is a lovely bottle for an occasion, and the twelve is the better value.
Caskable score: 81 out of 100.
Dark fruit, toffee, chocolate and a little orange
Deep and silky, with dried fruit, cocoa and soft spice
Long and warm, with dark fruit, oak and a gentle bitterness
A deep, dark, beautifully smooth Speyside malt at a price that asks for a special occasion.
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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