Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley
Eighteen-year-old Aberfeldy finished in red wine casks from Napa Valley. Red berries and spices alongside honey, bottled at 43%: a bottle to savor slowly.
Scottish malt, Californian wine cask
This Aberfeldy is part of the distillery's wine cask series. The whisky first matures for eighteen years in refill casks and hogsheads, large oak casks that preserve Aberfeldy's honeyed style. It then spends around fifteen months in casks that previously held Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, California.
The red wine leaves its mark: red berries and a distinct spiciness, alongside the green apple and honey you know from Aberfeldy. It's bottled at 43%, stronger than the 12 and 16 Years, giving it more body. It's an annual release; the version this page is based on is the 2023 edition.
In brief
Red berries, apple and a spicy edge
Red berries
The wine cask makes its presence known first with red fruit, followed by green apple and Aberfeldy's soft honey notes.
Fruity and spicy
Round and smooth, with honey and apple, and a spiciness you won't find in the younger bottles. The 43% gives it a little more weight.
Long and warm
A warm finish where the spices and red fruit linger longest, with honey as the final note.
Flavor profile of Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley neat. Compared to the 12 Years, it's spicier and fruitier, and a little stronger at 43%.
Taste it like a winemaker
An eighteen-year-old whisky with a wine finish is best drunk neat. Treat it a little like a glass of red wine: let it breathe, smell, taste.
Neat, after ten minutes
3 cl in a tulip-shaped tasting glass, then leave it alone for a while. After about ten minutes, the alcohol has settled a little and the red berries and spices come through much more clearly.
Glass: tasting glass →With a few drops of water
Add two or three drops of cool water with a straw or pipette. At 43%, this opens up the whisky: the apple and honey come forward more alongside the wine cask.
Tasting glasses →Alongside the 12 Years
Pour a small glass of 12 Years and a small glass of 18 Napa Valley side by side. That way, you can taste exactly what six extra years and a red wine cask do with the same honey base.
About the 12 Years →Classics this bottle deserves
Mixing it away would be a shame. If you do want a cocktail, choose a stirred classic with few ingredients, where the whisky does the talking.
Old Fashioned
Whisky, a little sugar and bitters. The red fruit comes through beautifully.
Manhattan
Whisky with red vermouth and bitters. The wine finish complements the vermouth.
Sazerac
Whisky, sugar and bitters in a glass rinsed with absinthe. Spice on spice.
Hot Toddy
Whisky with hot water, honey and lemon. For a cold evening with an old glass.The right glass for Aberfeldy 18 Years
A tulip-shaped tasting glass or a snifter, to gather the red fruit and spices. A crystal tumbler for those who prefer a heavy glass in their hand.
More Aberfeldy flavors
Aberfeldy
Where it all began. Read all about Aberfeldy on the brand page: its origins, varieties, and classic cocktails.
Go to Aberfeldy →
Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition
Sixteen years old with an oloroso finish: honey, fruitcake, and dark chocolate. A malt for after dinner.
View Aberfeldy 16 Years Distillers Edition →Everything about whisky: the types, the best-known brands, and the cocktails.
Questions about Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley
Can't find your question here? Read more on the Aberfeldy page or browse our cocktail recipes.
Everything about Aberfeldy →What is the alcohol percentage of Aberfeldy 18 Years Napa Valley?
What does Napa Valley mean in Aberfeldy 18?
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Buy Aberfeldy
Want the bottle delivered straight to your door? Order Aberfeldy online at Gall & Gall.
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