Aber Falls Single Malt Welsh Whisky 70 cl

Product Information

I was tempted to give this a six because of the great price, but – as I try them side by side – it’s even more obvious that this is not in the same league as the inaugural release, so I can’t put them just a single point apart. This latest bottle does have plenty of similarities in its DNA but feels like a light version of that first ever bottling. The cask make-up is along the same lines with the virgin oak and sherry casks, but there is no orange wine here, and perhaps the quantities have been adjusted somewhat, with fewer of those sherry casks used (I am guessing, based on what I am finding in the glass). James Wright, Managing Director at Aber Falls Whisky Distillery, said: “We are thrilled to release a our 2021 Welsh Single Malt whisky, following the successful inaugural release earlier in the year, which saw 2,000 bottles sell out in just 40 minutes! We’re a distillery that proudly produces 100% Welsh whisky, capturing the Welsh craft and heritage in every bottle. As a result, our products are extremely sustainable, enabling us to benefit Wales at every stage of production, including returning any waste ingredients to local farms for use as fertiliser or cattle feed.

The vast majority of Halewood’s other brands do get bottled at the minimum 40%, but I was expecting something different from their own distillery. I really hope that offering a higher ABV, unchill filtered, natural colour option for the ever-growing enthusiast sector of the market remains in their plans. Finish: The creamy texture prevails, vanilla fudge, darker notes of berries and cherries, sherried fruit cake, soft barley spice. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise. Aber Falls is located in a beautiful spot, with the north Wales coast one side, and the mountains of Snowdonia on the other. It is named after a stunning 120-foot waterfall a couple of miles from the distillery, the water from which passes directly past the distillery buildings on its way out to sea. This same water is used for their whisky, thanks to their own borehole. If you are of the opinion that water makes a difference to the whisky, then fresh water flowing from the Snowdonia mountains is a pretty good source to have.On the nose: Sweet and fruity with lots of bright orange and mango coming to the fore. There’s also raisin, along with honey, toffee apple and icing sugar. Vanilla comes through, with tobacco and green tea, as well as a little bready, yeasty note and some damp hay. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein.

The 6,000-square-meter building has stood since the 19th century, opening initially as a slate works, before it became a margarine factory during the world wars. More recently it was a drinks wholesaler depot for Halewood International, and it was the Liverpool-based drinks conglomerate who reimagined the space and subsequently set in motion plans for refurbishment and restoration in 2017. Further developments are currently underway, and a visitor centre will open in 2018 offering tours and classes. We may, but are not under any obligation, to release new functionalities and tools or other features for the Service every now and then. Any new functionalities, tools and features shall be part of and governed by the Terms from the moment they are launched and/or available. Further, we reserve the right to modify, change, discontinue the Service, add or remove features, update the Service, change its appearance, temporarily and permanently, at any time, in whole or any part thereof. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. Nothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us.Aber Falls whisky is now available and you can sample premium range of small batch, handcrafted gins and liqueurs the distillery has released so far - such as Aber Falls Salted Toffee Liqueur and Aber Falls Orange Marmalade Gin.

From what I can see they are doing things right at Aber Falls, with the way they produce and present their whisky. There is a focus on locality and being part of the community. They are using 100% Welsh barley, with a field-to-field policy of reusing the by-products of the distillation process. The spent pot ale is used for fertiliser, and the distillers’ grains go to local farmers to feed the cattle. I find it a little too bitter and oaky in the middle of the development on the palate, possibly due to the virgin oak casks. I would rather it was reined in a bit. The finish is a little short too. Having said that: there are some nice fruity flavours, which along with the cream and spice works very well. As part of this exciting release, Aber Falls has also partnered with Welsh bartender, Alex Mills, to create a signature serve: an Old Fashioned, but with a Welsh twist. We are incredibly proud to be able to share this wonderful whisky with more people, with this latest release.”

Reviews

This is a marriage of whiskies from American virgin oak, Spanish sherry, and orange wine casks. The orange wine is a particularly interesting addition, something which wouldn’t be allowed were it a Scotch whisky. It is bottled at 46% ABV, but there is no reference to whether it is non-chill filtered or with natural colour. If it is, then please label it as such! Aber Falls Inaugural Release – Review Wales as a whisky producing country has been rather slow to get going. Consider that the first Welsh distillery in a very long time, Penderyn, launched in the year 2000… six years before the oldest of the current 33 English whisky distilleries was founded. There are a handful here now, and I am hoping it continues to grow as an industry and starts to build a reputation similar to what many of the excellent new English distilleries have been enjoying. I am certainly keen to taste and write about as many of them as possible. The first release from Aber Falls distillery sold out in 40 minutes. Thankfully, the second batch is now here, and even better, it’s very reasonably priced which is why Aber Falls Single Malt Autumn 2021 release is our New Arrival of the Week. The Aber Falls set-up is an interesting one with a mixture of copper pot and stainless steel stills. The 2021 release was then matured in a mix of ex-Oloroso and PX sherry casks, ex-bourbon casks, and virgin oak casks, before diluting with local spring water and bottling at 40% ABV. It’s a little more conventional than the inaugural release which included ageing in orange wine casks – yes, wine made from oranges.