What is Aberlour 10 Year?

The definition of Aberlour 10 Year Old Whisky

Aberlour 10 Year Old Whisky is an excellent intro not only the world of Speyside malts but the entire Scotch whisky category.

Aberlour is renowned for its sweet and spicy, sherried malts. Using a combination of ex-oloroso sherry and ex-bourbon casks for ageing their whisky, the Aberlour 10 is full of the rich fruit cake notes we have come to expect of Speyside malts.

This is very much a scotch equivalent of a bike with training wheels on it. Highly recommend buying this malt for someone who hasn’t had much experience with whisky but is curious to try. The price point is very reasonable, so if they don’t end up taking to whisky like a fish to water, it’s not a massive loss and I’m sure you can happily help them polish off the bottle.

Scotch whisky is a very broad category consisting of various styles, regions and production methods. It is unclear whether Ireland or Scotland was the first to produce whisky but it is likely that the practice became common in both countries concurrently. It is commonly thought that the knowledge of distillation was brought to Scotland (and Ireland) by monks returning from the Mediterranean and the Middle East in around 1000AD.

In Short?

Appearance: Light copper.
Nose: Orange peel, raisins and vanilla.
Taste: Toasted oak, caramel with baked apple notes.
Finish: Sweet sherry wine notes with spice.
Overall: Great entry level malt, young and light but still quintessentially Speyside.

ABV: 40.0%
Volume: 700ml

What Is Scotch Whisky?

Scotch whisky (Scottish Gaelic: uisge-beatha; Scots: Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland.

All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distilleries began introducing whisky made from wheat and rye in the late 18th century. As of 2020, there were 134 Scotch whisky distilleries operating in Scotland.

All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three years. Any age statement on a bottle of Scotch whisky, expressed in numerical form, must reflect the age of the youngest whisky used to produce that product. A whisky with an age statement is known as guaranteed-age whisky. A whisky without an age statement is known as a no age statement (NAS) whisky, the only guarantee being that all whisky contained in that bottle is at least three years old. The minimum bottling strength according to the regulation is 40% alcohol by volume. Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: single malt Scotch whisky, single grain Scotch whisky, blended malt Scotch whisky (formerly called “vatted malt” or “pure malt”), blended grain Scotch whisky, and blended Scotch whisky.

The Smallprint:

Where and by whom is it distilled?
Aberlour’s Distillery is located in the Speyside region of scotland, Strathspey.

What, exactly, goes into it?
Water, Malted Barley, Yeast.

Any other recommendations?
If the person you’re buying for is a fan of the Aberlour 10 you could also try Macallan 12 Sherry Oak, Dalmore 12 or Glenfarclas 10.