Aberfeldy 12 is a Solid Entry-Level Single Malt Scotch 

Not every drink needs to blow your hair back. A lot of the enjoyment that comes from trying new whiskies or wines is the growing appreciation for complexities and subtleties you never noticed before — many of them becoming staple expectations in your favourite drinks.

But you’ve got to start somewhere. If I handed you a glass of cask-strength Aberlour or a smoked-out dram of Laphroaig as your first scotch, I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up thusly:

Which is precisely why a scotch like Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt exists — it both fills a flavour niche and a price point that won’t scupper a budding scotch enthusiast’s interest. To appeal to a beginner, it necessarily has to make some sacrifices (which I’ll touch on in the tasting notes) so take the overall praise I have for this scotch with a tiny bit of salt. Here are my thoughts:

Abefeldy 12 Scotch Review

Simple. That’s the one word that can encompass Aberfeldy 12. If I was to be charitable, I might say “Minimalist” and if I was to be critical I might say “Undistinguished.” But in my mind “simple” is the best word, because that’s what it is — there ain’t much to it, but that’s not entirely a bad thing.

On the nose, Aberfeldy 12 smells distinctly of scotch. Ok, ok, I jest, but it does have the most “yup, that’s a scotch” smell of all time. It’s fairly sweet smelling with a kiss of fruitiness (think apple cider, but dial the knob way down) with a bit of vanilla and a hint of molasses. I’ve seen in other reviews there’s a whiff of smoke, but I couldn’t conjure it, despite really sniffing.

The taste is similar, with one or two curve balls. It has a remarkably light body, slipping off your tongue like a chilled glass of water. Normally I like a big chonky fella’ but — in the spirit of this being for a noob scotch — I can see the appeal of something that isn’t overly oily and doesn’t spend all day in your mouth. The taste is sweet, with a bit of honey joining the flavours on the nose, as well as a not-unpleasant hint of green grape. There’s also a teensy bit of floral background, but again — next to zero smokiness. The finish is over in a flash, but leaving you with more of that apple cider and vanilla.

Is Aberfeldy 12 going to enter my pantheon of preferred pours? No. But offer me a dram of this scotch when I was 19, and I think I’d have had an awakening. If you’re fond of subtler drams, or want to introduce someone to Scotch for the first time, Aberfeldy 12 is worth sipping slow.