Speyside · 12 Year Old · 40%
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If you want one bottle that shows why Speyside is Scotland’s best-loved whisky region, start here. Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask brings together whisky aged in two different types of oak, traditional oak and sherry oak, for a dram that is fruity, gently spiced and wonderfully easy to enjoy. It is the bottle many whisky lovers reach for again and again, and one of the best-value 12 year old single malts you can buy.
Made at a distillery that has been drawing water from the same ancient spring since 1879, this is a classic Speyside single malt with real history in the glass.
Every drop of Aberlour 12 spends at least twelve years in oak. Part of the whisky matures in traditional oak casks and part in seasoned sherry oak casks. Once both have reached the right age, the distillery marries them together. Each cask brings something different: the traditional oak adds vanilla, honey and soft fruit, while the sherry oak layers in dried fruit, chocolate and warming spice.
Fresh Aberlour spirit has a naturally crisp, citrus character. Double cask maturation rounds off those sharper edges without hiding them, so you get a whisky that tastes rich and mellow but still bright and fruity. Think of it as the friendly, everyday face of a distillery famous for its sherry-led whiskies.
Golden amber with a glint of ruby red.
Soft and rounded. Red apple leads the way, followed by honey, vanilla and a light hint of sherry.
A fine sherried character from the first sip. Orange and red apple sit alongside rich chocolate and toffee, with liquorice, almond and a gentle prickle of cinnamon and ginger.
Sweet, mellow and lingering, fading out on light, warming spice.
There is no peat smoke here. If you love fruity, dessert-like whiskies, or you are just stepping up from blended Scotch, this is a very easy bottle to fall for. Some fans describe it as having a touch of Christmas cake about it, which makes it a lovely choice as the nights draw in.
Pour a measure into a tulip-shaped glass and give it a minute to open up. Neat is the best way to pick out the apple, toffee and sherry notes.
Add a few drops of still water and the aromas lift, bringing out more fruit and softening the spice.
On a warm day, try it over one large ice cube, or topped up with chilled ginger ale and a slice of orange for an easy Speyside highball.
It works beautifully with dark chocolate, aged Cheddar, fruit cake or a sticky toffee pudding.
Aberlour sits at the foot of Ben Rinnes, in the Speyside village of the same name, where the Lour Burn runs down into the River Spey. The distillery takes its water from St Drostan’s Well on the site, named after a 6th-century Celtic monk who, according to local tradition, used the spring to baptise local people.
The distillery you see today was founded in 1879 by James Fleming, a local farmer’s son who had worked as a grain dealer supplying distilleries. He chose the site partly to secure the spring water, and within a year his whisky was flowing. The Victorian whisky writer Alfred Barnard visited in the 1880s and praised it as a model distillery. Fleming also gave the village its first public hall, a cottage hospital and the Victoria Bridge over the Spey, still known locally as the Penny Bridge.
After a serious fire in 1898, Aberlour was rebuilt under Charles Doig, the famous distillery architect from Elgin. In 1973 it was expanded from two to four stills, and a year later it became part of Pernod Ricard. Thanks to that French ownership, Aberlour has long had a huge following in France, and today it ranks among the best-selling Scotch single malts in the world. In 2000 the distillery launched A’bunadh, its cask-strength, all-sherry whisky, which cemented Aberlour’s reputation for rich, sherried malts.
Aberlour 12 Double Cask has collected a string of medals, including Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2016 and 2020, Gold there in 2015 and 2019, and Gold at the International Spirits Challenge in 2022.
Enjoying the fruity Speyside style? Compare it with The Glenlivet 12 Year Old or The Singleton of Dufftown 12, browse every Speyside single malt in our shop, or read our guide to the 10 best single malt Scotch whiskies to buy in 2026. Looking for something more special? See our Macallan Harmony Fresh Coconut review.
Partly. It is matured in both traditional oak and sherry oak casks, then the two are married together. That is why it has sherry richness alongside lighter vanilla and apple notes.
No. Aberlour 12 is an unpeated Speyside malt. Expect fruit, toffee, chocolate and spice rather than smoke.
Say it “Ab-er-LAU-er”, with the stress on the last part, which sounds like “flower” without the “f”.
Aberlour 12 is a 40% ABV whisky from two cask types. A’bunadh is bottled at cask strength and matured only in sherry casks, so it is much bolder and more intense.
Aberlour is owned by Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky arm of French drinks group Pernod Ricard, which bought the distillery in 1974.
Yes. It is a well-known, award-winning 12 year old single malt with a friendly, fruity style that suits both new and experienced whisky drinkers.
Keep it upright, tightly sealed and away from sunlight and heat. Stored well, an opened bottle will keep its flavour for many months.
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