Perthshire is a region of Scotland with the perfect blend of history, scenery, and culture. From the gorgeous Queen’s View and Pass of Killiecrankie to Blair Castle and charming Dunkeld, there’s a reason why Perthshire has the moniker “the heart of Scotland.” Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that when it comes to whisky Perthshire is also the perfect blend as many of the most famous blended Scotch whiskies call it home. Bell’s, Famous Grouse, Dewar’s — you’ve probably heard the names if not even tried them — can all be found here in the heart of Perthshire.
Most blended Scotch whiskies have a brand home which is usually the distillery whose whisky forms the heart of the blend. Blair Atholl distillery in Pitlochry, for example, makes up the base of Bell’s blended Scotch whisky. The same holds true for Aberfeldy distillery, which makes up the heart of Dewar’s, one of the best-selling blended Scotch whiskies in the USA. With the rise of single malts over the past decade, however, many of these brand home distilleries are switching focus to their single malt. Glenturret distillery, the home of Famous Grouse, is a good case in point as between my first visit in 2012 and my second visit in 2017 they had completely deemphasized Famous Grouse in favor of the Glenturret single malt. It remained to be seen how true this would be at Aberfeldy distillery.
Aberfeldy is situated in an extremely pretty slice of Perthshire just west of the A9. An old railway leads to the distillery buildings crawling with multicolored creepers and huddled beneath towering oaks. Dewar’s White Label’s slogan “Live True” was painted on the barrels outside the visitors’ centre. I pondered that truism as I entered quite a posh shop and bar area. Spot lighting, wooden tables, and Dewar’s ads from yesteryear defined the space. A lot of money had gone into shining the best possible light on Aberfeldy’s products, and among them I found Royal Brackla, Craigellachie, Glen Deveron, and Aultmore — all distilleries owned by Barcardi and controlled by Dewar’s & Sons.
I and others waiting for the tour were invited to browse the distillery exhibits. The exhibit room was dark as a movie theater with informational displays, walls of whisky bottles, glimmering mirrors, and a facsimile of a gentleman’s study called into perception by a series of spotlights. There’s quite a bit to peruse here, including artifacts from the distillery’s early days and a great aroma wheel where you can test your olfactory knowledge against common whisky notes. I love this kind of thing and feel it’s super important to finding your way to other whiskies you might like.
Before long George, our mustachioed tour guide, appeared and began the tour of how Aberfeldy makes whisky. Unfortunately, as is becoming all too common these days, I was not allowed to take photos of the distillery or record any audio, which, as you can imagine, drastically hamstrings my efforts to write about the experience. Nevertheless I jotted down some few details afterward while they were still fresh in my mind.
Aberfeldy distillery was founded in 1896 by John Dewar and despite a few closures in the past hundred years has run fairly consistently ever since. The distillery possesses four pot stills — two wash stills and two spirit stills — each capable of holding 15,000-16,500 liters. It’s a fairly average size in the industry, and with them they manage to produce 3.4 million liters of whisky each year. Aberfeldy’s stills are classic in shape with big bodies, medium-length necks, and a slightly rising lyne arm. No boil balls or cinch points, so most of the reflux is happening in the lyne. A lot of Aberfeldy’s spirit goes into Dewar’s blended whisky, but the distillery also produces standard Aberfeldy 12 and Aberfeldy 21 year old single malt whisky. I pick up a mild sweetness and round mouthfeel in just about every Aberfeldy dram, and this makes it a very easy whisky with which to blend.
In the warehouse I found a lot of American white oak ex-Bourbon barrels, and that’s mostly what you’ll find in the Dewar’s and Aberfeldy 12 bottles. Some sherry creeps into the 21 year old and Aberfeldy’s rarer bottlings.
After the brief tour George provided a nice tasting for me that included both Dewar’s and Aberfeldy drams. The first dram on the docket was Dewar’s 12, which is not the same as Dewar’s White Label, and has no age statement. The dram is a blended whisky designed to be round and balanced. I found it quite light, warming, with a thin sweetness and a slightly bitter aftertaste.
The Aberfeldy 12 followed, and interestingly it had spent some time in both white and red oak casks. The dram evoked floral and citrus fruity notes, with increased richness and a waxy/buttery character. Bitter orange and a dash of spiciness appeared on the slightly hot palate. The sherry influence of the Aberfeldy 21 was immediately noticeable. It was drier and spicier with red fruit like raspberries and cherries then clover honey and waxy bitterness followed by a round and dry oaky finish. Not bad!
The tasting finished up with a trio of less common Aberfeldy products. First was the 1998 vintage which delivered fruity sweet notes from the sherry finish. Dried fruit, cloves, leather, and a big, expanding mouthful topped it off. A little bit of water really opened this up. Dewar’s Signature Blend is a blend composed of 20, 30, and 40-year-old whiskies. Wow, sounds incredible, but the cynic in me sees this bottle as a way to recoup cash on casks that perhaps didn’t turn out as well as the distillery had hoped. This dram had heaps more character than the Dewar’s 12, and it was complex, too, with butter, caramel, butterscotch, and a bit of salt. Very smooth and light. Finally, I enjoyed a nip of the 1988 cask strength Aberfeldy which clocked in at 25 years old and 54% ABV. This bottle came from a refill white oak cask and was characterized by a spicy and minty lingering finish.
If you’re a fan of Dewar’s whisky then a visit to Aberfeldy distillery during your time in Perthshire is a good idea. Otherwise, the exhibits inside the visitors’ centre are the highlight of the distillery.